Prince of the Tearling
by LadyGinoza
Summary: Alternate Universe request. Merman Kou saves Human Gino.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Psycho-Pass or the Characters.

 **Rated M**

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 **Chapter 1**

 **Ginoza**

Father told me time and time again that those with power should treat their people with outermost kindness and respect. In turn they would return their love and protection a thousand folds. I have yet to see this love; their protection that father spoke of, this isn't love. I'm not safe…

Ever since I could walk, I was trained in sword play, thought the courtesies in court and the world of politics. I was raised to be the perfect prince expected to take the throne once father passes away of old age one day but even after all those years of training in the arts of combat when the time came I was completely useless.

Everything happened so fast, there wasn't any time to think and the men who had joined me for a ride in the king's wood fell one by one. They fought bravely but in the end I was surrounded by enemies and I was forced to lay down my sword in defeat.

My men's sacrifice was all for nothing. They died in vain and I was captured anyway which only further adds insult to their valiant effort to keep me safe. They deserved more than what they got, they didn't deserve to be butchered in the middle of the woods like they did…

"He's worth a lot but to whom do we sell him to?" One asks. A rather large man with greasy thick black hair and dried up blood on his arms and tattered and filthy clothes.

"The king will pay up." Another responds but I can't tell which one from where I am but I don't like his tone, his voice. "He'll want his beloved son back." He adds and I'd want to protest on that but knowing my father he'd probably would pay a large amount of gold for my safe return much to my dismay…

I'm nothing but a burden-

"Fuck the king!" A loud voice booms cutting the others off, a voice that commands attention so I'll assume that he must be the leader of this little cult. "There are other buyers who would be interested in getting their hands on the king's only son." He adds and I wish he hadn't said that.

"This country has enemies, we can always sell the boy to the larger one and in turn that would be more beneficial on our ends." The greasy man states and I wish they would all just shut up and act a little like I'm in fact here and able to hear everything that they are planning.

That's what I feared would happen though. My country is wealthy and my father could certainly pay whatever ransom they would demand but that's not the only thing that it has. Our lands are vast and rich, the terrain a perfect defense and we hold a large infantry army including a strong cavalry unit and skilled archers and our navy fleet is just as grand.

Being surrounded by the sea and our cities and villages protected by the mountain sides you would need a very large army to bring my country to its knees. My people are strong, resilient and proud, they would not kneel in defeat and surrender their lands and my father's enemies know this. Knowing this fact has kept the enemy countries from ever attempting to invade our lands but if they were to have me as an hostage, the situation would surely change and my home would fall into chaos.

"An exchange for power and wealth. I'm fine with that."

An exchange for power and wealth…?

In the world of politics there are no exchange for power and wealth, the moment you turn your back on your liege lord and turn to another with a bargain, you are immediately branded as untrustworthy and a traitor. They will give you a false promise, they'll take your offer and then take you directly to the torture chamber to squeeze out any other information that you may held.

All of these men, careless and ignorant have no idea that they will be walking right into the slaughter house once they've handed me over to their new king. They will never see the profit of their betrayal, only death awaits them if they do this.

Their roaring drunken laughters are despicable, drinking and eating around their fire and I'm not even sure if they've forgotten about me in their drunken state or they simply do not care. They no longer look behind them to see if I'm still there as if they are completely certain that my binds will keep me here. Can't say that they're wrong; since earlier I've been trying to free myself but I haven't had much success and this gag is starting to make me nauseous.

As the night slowly passes, one by one my captors fall asleep from consuming too much alcohol. These men must be nothing more than sell swords and illegal traders. It wouldn't surprise me if some of them sold slaves.

I struggle against my bonds again, trying not to be too loud as not wanting to wake those filths and finally I'm starting to feel the grip around my wrist starting to loosen little by little until I was able to slip my hands free and the next thing I do is get that damn gag out of my mouth and lastly I turn my attention to the binds around my ankles.

I get up and start backing away when I hear a vicious growl and I fall on the ground in my slight panic and only inches away from my face is a snarling dog that would bite me if it could but the rope around his neck doesn't allow it to come any closer but his growls and bark alerted my captors that I had somehow freed myself but I don't wait for them to get up as I bolt into a run.

I was thought that a prince never runs away, that he should always stand his ground a fight and I get that I really do but how is that always a logic option? If I stand my ground and fight, I won't die because they need me alive but I won't win either so what would be the point to stand and fight. To me, sometimes you have to run in order to fight another day.

These woods, if I haven't been through them a hundred times before I haven't seen it once. Even as I run in the night, carefully navigating through the branches and fallen trees I know where I am, where I'm going and unfortunately it also means that I'm heading straight for a cliff with a long drop into the ocean. I could jump but I don't know if I would survive the fall or I stop and get myself captured again. And then get traded off to my father's enemy and my people will be butchered in their sleep, the women raped and the children sold off into slavery.

There really isn't much to think about. My life or thousands, the choice is logical.

It's my duty to protect my people.

The rocks coming into view as I exit the forest without stopping my pace, my heart beating fast from the adrenaline pumping through my veins, not thinking twice as I jump off the high rocks and I feel the wind cutting into me and the last thing I know before everything went dark is the sharp pain as my body entered the cold abyss of the ocean waves…

 **XXX**

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 **Chapter 1.5**

 **Kougami**

Humans are such odd creatures.

They travel on wooden vessels and more than half of them sink like a rock at the bottom of the water and they can't seem to breathe unless they're on the surface and yet they continue to float on top of the waters knowing full well of the dangers that lurk underneath them and still they come in vast numbers. Claiming whatever they find as theirs and whatever they don't understand they either kill or destroy.

How many of these ignorant and clueless humans have we saved from death in these waters? Too many, by all means we should let them die after all they do not shy away from hunting us down and yet they call us monsters and foul creatures of the sea but we have never killed any of them.

Humans… They're such selfish and heartless creatures…

They destroy each other's wooden vessels with large metal balls; they burn each other's towns and sack their fishing villages. Humans constantly cause their own brethren, their own kind harm and pain. They thrive seeing others fall in order to climb up in their so called society even if it means killing each other they will do it.

It's foolish if you ask me but tonight the stars are in abundance and the moon is shining ever so brightly. The air is cool and the waves are calm, I can almost forget about the humans' ignorance for a moment and simply focus on those stars instead but of course like always there is never any tranquility when humans are near. They are so loud but they're more than usual at this period of the night which peaks my curiosity and way up on that land away from the sea, I see a figure running towards the end of the earth.

The figure must be able to see that the earth is about to end but it never stops and continues right over the edge and way down into the water.

I shouldn't concern myself with the things of humans; after all they've been killing my people for so long. I should be instead swimming away and back into the shallow waters, away from these beasts and yet instead I swim towards where the figure fell into the water.

It wasn't hard to find the figure that fell, more like jumped to its death would be more accurate. It surely knew what it was doing and yet I didn't see any hesitation in its movements when it made its leap of faith.

It's not too surprising that it's a male human but just like most humans he sank right at the bottom but it could also be caused by the impact of the fall. He's not conscious but he's still alive. A part of me is saying that I should abandon this human and swim away but another part of me doesn't want to leave him to die.

Distance disturbance catches my attention; something is getting closer to this location. Sounds like more humans, humans hunting another human it would seem. It would explain this one's actions to leap off the earth and into the jaws of the ocean. Maybe it could be why my instincts are telling me to flee with this human and that's exactly what I do. With the human under my arm, I swim away in all haste towards a tunnel and surface into a small cave.

I lift the human onto the damp rocks and then I lift myself up to inspect the human as he coughs up a bit of water from his mouth but he's breathing and doesn't seem to be injured.

I sweep away the wet strands of hair way from his face; his skin is so pale almost like porcelain or ivory. Although he's indeed male, his features are not like the human males that I have seen. The ones I've seen had large stomachs. They were filthy, disgusting and more hair in places that I can count.

But this one…

Dark hair, dark as coal, nothing uncommon; I've seen this color before on many and yet his feels like silk and they look like silk and nothing like that matted clumps that I've seen so many times on those human aboard those wooden vessels. His skin is soft, radiant and clean but something has caused damage to his wrists.

A restraint?

He's small and yet longer than most human males that I've seen but unlike the others he possesses delicate facial features and a delicate body structure. One could almost mistake this male for a female, he is fair.

He gently stirs and lets out a few sounds before opening his eyes. Bright green meeting mine, almost hypnotic and somehow his beauty has grown by hundreds in a matter of seconds. I've never laid eyes on such a beautiful human, he's beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Next update might take some time. I've got other things to work on before going for chapter 3.**

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 **Chapter 2**

 **Ginoza**

Pain…

Waves of pain…

They started out distant but slowly, little by little the waves of pain have started getting stronger but they're not intense and are actually bearable to say the least. To say, I've had worst pains before but there's still something there.

My vision is blurry but I'm not blinded by any bright source of light, everything is dim and all I see in my poor vision state are glittering rocks and even though there is definitely a lack of lighting here and that I feel wet, I'm not cold. Actually somehow the air feels slightly warm and yet damp but not cold.

I don't remember what happened all that I do remember is running away from my captors and after that I jumped off the edge of the cliff. I saw my rapid fall down into the ocean and then everything went black. The impact of the fall into the cold water sucked the breath out of me, the water hitting my body felt like multiple stinging daggers all at once and then that was it…

I don't remember anything else that happened afterwards; I don't know how I got here. Obviously someone dragged me out of the freezing water after I passed out from the pain but I don't think it's my captors who did. I don't hear their drunken laughters, everything is quiet with only the sound of dripping water on the stones is present.

I don't feel like I've been taken captive again, I'm not tied up or anything but who saved me? Where am I and how did I get here? By all means, I should be dead…

My body feels sore; it's only a reminder that everything had indeed been real and not just a dream. No… More like a bloody nightmare. Whether it's actually over or not, I don't know. Nothing feels real or maybe my mind is just hazy from that fall.

Little by little my vision is starting to adjust and I'm starting to see a bit clearer. The glittering rocks are covered in gold and precious gems of various colors and sizes. It looks like I'm in a cave, it's strangely vast and everywhere I look all I see is gold and gems. I can only imagine what people would do if they knew about this place, how many people would die in order to get their hands on this stuff…

I look to my right when I see a shadow lurking over me and a naked man enters my vision-

My reflex was to quickly jolt backwards away from the man. Ignoring the pain that was engulfing throughout my body as I continued backing away and then my hands no longer had any contact with stone as I plunged backwards, head first back into the water but unlike before the water isn't cold but is instead warm which makes absolutely no sense but at the moment it doesn't matter if I can't resurface.

The water is dark and I can barely see as I feel against the rocks, trying to find an opening in order to surface for air but I can't seem to locate anything but a celling of rocks and the more I search with little success I can feel my panic growing and growing with each passing seconds as I start feeling pain to my chest, my lungs pleading for air.

I'm almost at my limit; I know I can't hold my breath any longer. With my sudden fall I didn't have time to take a deep breath and I'm paying for it at this very moment and just when my hope was starting to fade I feels strong hands grab my sides and pull me upwards back to the surface that had been so close to me and yet I couldn't find it.

I gasp for air the moment I hit the surface, back face to face with the same man from before. His eyes a deep piercing blue, almost like sapphires and although I've seen a few people with blue eyes his are different. His are like an endless abyss and somehow if I get too close I'll be sucked in but there's something different about this man, he doesn't seem human and my questions were quickly answered when I feel something not quite human brush against my legs and I knew right then what he was. He was what I had heard about when I was a little boy from the returning sailors, the tales of Mermans and mermaids dragging sailors into the depths of the ocean, ravaging them and then pulling those men down to their deaths never to be seen ever again.

"You can float, that's a rarity." He spoke… The merman spoke just like any other human but I was told that they can't speak and if they can it's only under the water. That if they try to speak on the surface all we could hear is a piercing screech that could make our ears bleed and yet he spoke clearly and flawlessly.

I swallowed the lump that had found itself in my throat before answering a shaky yes. I don't know if he can sense my fear, I've never been good at hiding my emotions but I can see that he's obviously amused as he keeps reducing the distance between us and thanks to this cylinder hole he took me to surface, I can't flee. I'm trapped.

"Afraid human?" He asks almost tauntingly.

"I know what you are, you're not scaring me." I answer; my voice not betraying me even though I know that I'm shaking and I just hope that will be enough to convince him otherwise.

I've heard so many stories about mermans and mermaids, how they prey on defenseless humans who are alone and then lure them to their deaths. How they shouldn't be trusted, the moment they have the chance they'll drag you down to the bottom of the ocean to die a most painful death.

"You're a terrible liar, you're afraid." He says, placing his hands on my hips and pulling himself closer to me, his face only inches away from mine. "You don't have to be, I won't harm you." He adds softly, his lips brushing against mine gently and I jerk my head backwards, slightly hitting the back of my head against the stone wall.

"What are you doing?" The question came out quicker and sharper than I had intended but he didn't care. He still wore that grin on his face, amused at everything that I do and say. Exactly what is his deal? Shouldn't he have killed me by now or do mermans love to torture their preys before?

"Kiss you, all humans do this." He casually answers as he moves in to press his lips against mine and I quickly turn my head to avoid him.

"Men don't kiss other men."

"Yes they do." He quickly adds, trying again to kiss me and once again I avoid his action much to his amusement. He doesn't seem annoyed or angry that I keep refusing his advances; it's more like he enjoys it instead, like it's all just a big game to him.

"How would you know? You're not human." I blurt out as I avoid his advance again.

"Because I've seen them." He answers, pressing his body against mine, moving his hands from my hips to my behind and presses his lips against mine.

"No!" I manage to say after I pull away from his kiss and slightly push him away. "You can't just kiss me and touch me as you please. I don't want to be touched or kissed without my permission."

"Can I kiss you then?" He asks and I can't even believe that he even had the nerve to ask. How can he even think that asking me now, when only minutes earlier he forced himself onto me? What is wrong with him?

"No you can't." I answer before taking a deep breath and sinking under the water, swimming to find a way out when I feel someone take my hand and pulls me forward, going must faster than how I could have swam and before I knew it, we resurfaced back to where I had been before I got spooked and fell into the water.

I climb up onto the rocks, getting myself out of the water and only then do I start to feel a bit more relaxed. Somehow now that I'm not longer in the water, I feel somewhat safe and yet if he wanted to hurt me he could have done it just then but instead he chose to lead me here. Why?

He leans onto the ledge, laying his head in his crossed arms staring at me for a few minutes before pushing himself away and disappearing under the water and all goes quiet.

When I jumped off the edge of the cliff, this wasn't what I had in mind…

 **XXX**

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 **Chapter 2.5**

 **Kougami**

This human is beautiful and his scent is alluring and I just can't help myself from feeling him under my hands, his taste onto my lips is like nothing I've ever tasted before. Everything about him is just captivating and yet I feel a sense of innocence from this one. He's not like the other humans that I've seen.

"No!" His voice was sharp and firm as he presses his hands against my chest to push me away in his sudden resolve.

The fear he had in his eyes earlier has now been replaced by a strong fire, a certain will to fight. He may be frail compared to the other male humans but there's courage in him and a sense of pride. This is one is without a doubt different from the others, I've never heard of a human able to deny any of our advances and yet for him it's just seems natural to do so.

"You can't just kiss me and touch me as you please. I don't want to be touched or kissed without my permission." He adds.

"Can I kiss you then?" The question slipped through my lips and rolled off my tongue without putting in much thought and quite frankly I do not even know why I asked such a stupid question in the first place.

I shouldn't have asked, I obviously offended this human with my actions and even though I know this, I want to touch him more. I want to see more of this human's body, I want to have his taste on my tongue, and I want to hear the voice that he'll make in pure ecstasy.

"No you can't." He answered before submerging himself into the water.

I knew he'd say that, I knew that he would have denied my advance again and yet it stung to be rejected but I can't abandon this human. There's something about him that is special and maybe a little foolish but special none the less.

I sink into the water, sees him searching for another exit without much luck. He's foolish and naïve but he is without a doubt brave. In time, this human can come to do great things but I sense some insecurities and uncertainties from him which might hinder his growth but he's still young. He has time to grow but he won't grow if he dies here.

I bolt towards him, taking his hand in mind and speed up my pace and resurface where I had first surfaced when I arrived here.

He wasted no time getting out of the water. He doesn't trust me and that pains my heart, I shouldn't expect any love from a human and yet somehow I wish to receive his love and affection. I'm captivated by his beauty and the way he looks at me I know that he's also captivated by me and yet he keeps pushing me away. It's like there's a fear of me deep inside of him and that fear blocks everything else but there's also something else, I feel like he fears to love. What kind of things has this human seen to turn him this way?

I rest against the ledge for a few minutes, starring at him before I leave him for a bit and swim back into the ocean, out of the cave when I'm greeted by loud voices on the water shore.

I carefully approach, careful not to be seen as I listen to the voices. The tones of the voices are in anger and without malicious intends. The voices belonging to human males that I've seen much too often on the open sea before and only a few that I do not recognize but they keep arguing about a boy. About how they were not able to find a single boy but they didn't have to say much. I knew who the boy they were referring to and it would also explain the reason of his wary state and the bruised wrists.

There are always humans wanting to cause harm to other humans, they are merciless creatures without much care, without any sense of honor or compassion.

"Wait until I get my hands on that brat, he'll regret running." One of them spats. A rather disgusting and large male, not even I would want to touch him. I don't have to be near him to know that he reeks, piss and wine. Probably reeks of his own excrements, a complete disgusting pile of shit.

"He won't receive the same hospitality as before." Another says. This one I don't recognize but compared to the others he's better dressed and looks cleaner, his social status must be higher, much higher than the others. "When you find the boy, bring him directly to me." He orders and I can sense the cruel intent in his tone as he spoke as the males spread out in different directions.

I submerge again into the water before I get seen by them and swim back to the cave, hoping that the human didn't do anything foolish and remained there and much to my relief, he's there walking around the cave. Looking at the wall and touching the gems stuck onto the rocks.

He backs away from the wall when he hears me and I pull myself onto the rocks. He seems uneasy and wary but I can't start to imagine what has happened to this human. He ran off the edge of the earth, clearly running for his life. The things he must have seen, I feel the need to protect him.

"Do the gems attract your eyes?" I ask, trying to start a conversation, maybe not the best thing to start with.

"No… There are just so many." He responds as he looks around, a little uncomfortable as if he thinks that I'm somehow judging him for staring at shiny stones. "I've just never seen so many before, gems are supposed to be rare I just never expected to see so many in one place in great abundance that's all."

Humans have always had this fascination towards gems, silver and gold. It's only a substance that the earth creates after certain amounts of years at specific concentration of natural material and pressure. They don't have value other than being beautiful and unique but to humans, those who wield the most of these precious minerals hold great power over the others of their kind and that to me is just strange.

I smile as I watch him pace around, careful not to fall in the open holes that would take him back into the water. He's so beautiful and somehow he's even more than before. Maybe because he's fully awake now and his voice only makes his beauty stand out even more.

"Pick the ones that you like, I'm sure they are worth much in your society." I tell him and I can just imagine how he would look with such gems on him. His face, his eyes, his form is just made for such delicate things. He's not made for war, he shouldn't have to endure any pain and if I can have my way he won't have to.

"I don't need more wealth. Taking them would only be greed on my part." He states, not bothering to look at me as he spoke, peaking my curiosity.

"Ahh… Socially high?"

"Very…" He answers.

"A merchant? Or those high sailors with the fancy coats?" I ask, thinking back at those grand wooden vessels and those males wearing so much clothing and although they seemed young by their facial features they all had white hair and styled all the same. It's actually weird and a bit creepy. It's like they all want to look the same.

"No, those are low borns and soldiers…" He slowly answered with a pained smile before continuing, "My father is the king."

"A prince? I knew you were different from the others but I never would have expected that you were a prince." I tell him and that's the truth. I could feel like he was different but I never would have imagined that he was this high into society. I have to admit, I'm surprised. A prince of humans never thought I'd see one of those.

It is common knowledge to all of my people that the higher the human is socially the more horrible and beast like they are. They are the ones holding all the power and wealth and use those two things to repress the common folk. They use others to gain what they desire and if they must they will end another's life but this human who claims to be a prince is nothing of the sort. I sense compassion and kindness from this human, he's different so very different.

"Come over here, I won't hurt you. You don't have to fear me." I tell him and much to my relief and surprise he came forward and sat on a rock near me, so near I could touch him if I wanted to but I won't. He doesn't want to be touched and that's important to respect another's wishes.

"What's your name?" I ask catching a quick glimpse of his gorgeous green eyes behind those strands of black hair.

"Ginoza." He answers and adds, "What's yours?"

"You can call me Kougami." I tell him as I go to reach out to touch his hand but refrain from doing so as I remember his earlier statement that he did not wish to be touched and thus he should not be touched and that memory only helps to fuel my fear as my thought goes back to those up there on the earth. They are humans that would wish to bring Ginoza harm, to bring harm to their own prince. That is something that I cannot comprehend the ways of thinking of humans, it's insane.

Those humans had impure thoughts about him that as much I know they did. The one that was well dressed had more than just impure thoughts. Unlike the others who are much too cowards to carry out their thoughts into actions, the well-dressed one will carry out his thoughts but it will not be out of love. It will be out of lust and for the sole purpose of defiling another human; an action to dominate, to hurt and to control.

"I should apologize for my earlier behavior. Your beauty is terrifyingly striking and quite difficult to resist, I will not be touching you again unless you want me to." I say catching his eyes, giving him a smile and he returns with a soft smile. Gentle and yet so sad, I would have Ginoza smiling of joy if I can have it.

"I need to go home…" He mutters.

Ginoza is a prince of humans, someone with power but in order to utilise that power he needs to be in his world. It doesn't change the fact that the very humans that he should have power over have tried to harm him and I know for a fact that they still do so how can I allow Ginoza to go back out there? I just can't.

"There are humans who would love to hurt you. You're not safe up there, surrounded by such madness." I tell him after choosing my words carefully but my words did not reach him.

He knows of the danger that still lurks up there, I know he does. Ginoza doesn't give me like the type who would so naively believe that the danger has gone away or lost interest. He knows of the insanity that awaits him and yet he's fully okay to go back and place himself into possible dangers.

"I'll be safe home with my father. I need you to take me home." He adds but I can't agree with him. How can he be safe when not long ago he was running for his life and would have died if not for me? If I had not been where I was tonight, I never would have seen him fall into the ocean. I wouldn't have been able to save him and he would have died within minutes.

"I can't do that." I firmly state, meeting his gaze.

"Why not?"

How can he just ask me a question when he fully knows the answer to it? Does he have a death wish or something?

"There are humans up there who would want to hurt you. You're a prince, safety is a price that must be paid for power, and sadly you will never be safe up there." I say as I control the urge to reach out to touch Ginoza. Not touching him is much harder to do than I had first thought it would be. I just want to hold him in my arms, to comfort and take the pain away.

"I never wanted to be. I didn't choose my father, I didn't choose to be born into all of this but I still have responsibilities to my people. I can't stay here." He tells me and I have to give it to him that compared to other humans he doesn't run from the things that he should. So many that I've seen would have jumped on the bandwagon to flee their responsibilities but Ginoza embraces it even though he doesn't want those burdens on his shoulders. Actually it feels more like he has surrendered to those responsibilities that he's been born into.

"I'll take you home… When the time is right, right now it isn't but I'll take you home."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Sugo**

This is without a doubt the biggest nightmare a kingdom can ever experience.

The sudden death of the queen was one thing since her death was tragic. To have died at such a young age under mysterious circumstances and leaving such a young child motherless was definitely one thing that sent the population weeping for their beloved queen but the troubling disappearance of the country's only prince and heir would be enough to send the people into an uproar and thus for the time being everything must be kept secret for as long as we can afford it.

By the information I was able to gather in such a short period of time, the prince was last seen leaving the castle grounds early in the morning for a ride into the king's wood with an escort of five well trained knights of the king's guard. By noon, when none of them returned from the morning ride the commander of the king's guards set out to look for them with a few good men but all they found was the dead bodies of the five knights and the prince was nowhere to be found.

After receiving this troubling news, it was rather obvious what had happened to the prince and the king wasted no time sending out as many riders as he could afford to let out in search for his son. It was the only thing he could do in this kind of situation and now all he can do is wait and pray for the best outcome but I can't stand still and wait for orders when there are things that I can do. I may not have any experience in cavalry or know the landscape of this country by heart but I know the sea. I know these waters like the back of my hand and I'll be damned if I allow whoever kidnapped my prince to escape this country by the sea.

"Teppei, my boy do not do this. Wait for orders from the king." My father urges me to reconsider but I've made up my mind a long time ago.

I was never expected to become much. My father was nothing more than a simple merchant sailor and my mother simply a common woman. The only thing that was ever expected from me was to become a merchant sailor just like my father and his father before him but I turned away from that path a long time ago.

I chose my own path and carved my own way into the navy and became a commander in my own rights with the men of my choosing. I've never failed a task that I've set my mind onto and my men follow me without a doubt in their mind and due to that my reputation has become solid and strong but I couldn't do it alone. A commander is only as good as the men that serves under him and not the other way around. What makes a good commander is being able to assemble your men and to guide them into whatever duty that must be done. It's being able to rally them into jumping right into the fiery hells that awaits us without a second thought.

Everything that I know about the sea, I've learned from my father and my grandfather. I've sailed these waters more times than I can count but it wasn't enough for me. To live the life of an honest merchant sailor, to simply waste my life away and become nothing more than a washed up old man in the later years with a wife and children. That life, it just wasn't for me because I knew I was able to become something much more than that and if a wife and children didn't fit into the life that I desired then so be it.

My path was decided a long time ago. I made my choice on the day I first laid my eyes onto the prince for the first time when I was seventeen and it was in that moment that I decided that I would one day serve him. He would be my king one day and I would serve him in the best way that I could and that was on the sea where I knew my way best.

"I picked the fastest ship in the fleet. I chose the sixty best killers on the Stone Islands and I'm going to sail up the Narrow Sea all the way to the Red River and occupy the Iron Wall and cut off the enemy there. I'm going to find my prince and I'm going to bring him home." I tell my father much to his dismay I know but I must do this.

The Stone Islands have always been known for being notorious for their cut throats and savagery but I saw something more when I landed onto those shores seven years ago. I saw strong and prideful men and women who were being wasted away into nothingness. Their legacy slowly being washed away for simply refusing to bend the knee to the crown due to their beliefs and barbaric ways but I saw potential and I knew what I had to do because to me having those strong and courageous men of the sea forced to stay on land was simply just a waste in my opinion.

I grew up on the sea, I've seen more people than I can count but I have never seen such a large group of people with such a strong understanding of the sea as much as they did. They worshiped the ocean and everything in it, they put their uttermost faith into that dark blue abyss and I knew that I would never be able to find better men to mend my ships out onto the open sea. I would never be able to find better men to wage war onto the raging open waters as much as they could so I made it my job to bring them into the fold under my command by any means necessary.

Getting these Islanders into the fold for the crown wasn't easy. Can't say that it was a pleasant experience or maybe it was and I just don't want to admit it because those were indeed the good old days. Fighting to earn my right to stand by them as their equal sure was one hell of a rush. I never experienced such a wild thrill as much as I did back then and every fight I fought that day was so worth it. Every punch, every kick and every cut, I took them all because it was just so worth it.

In the end it wasn't my battle skills that got me into their ranks, it was my wits and fearless attitude that gained me their respect and the rest is history as they say and ever since that day I gained the loyalty of the Islanders.

After bringing the Islanders into the fold, my place as been on the Stone Island for the last seven years. At the age of twenty-four I'm the liege lord of the Stone Islands and so will be my sons if I ever have any one day.

Since being a commander in the navy, I've had no other sailors under me than the Islanders. I trust no others to do the job that's needed on my ships other than the Islanders but with these peaceful times the navy hasn't been very busy and all we had for some time was simple merchant sailing and believe me when I say that the Islanders are not very fond of such things.

After many years of being forced to lay down their spears and to dock their boats after the death of their former liege lord due to a failed coup fifty years ago, I must say the long dormant fire that resided deep inside of them quickly sparked when I gave out my orders to them about my intentions. I sure did not have any problems into receiving volunteers for this task.

The Islanders might not care for the crown, they might not care for the king but they'll never turn away from a fight or their liege lord and that's all I need to know. They have a goal and something to be motivated about, I've given them a goal and I know that they won't fail me. They are my people now and I have the uttermost faith that we'll succeed in our duty. We will retrieve the prince from his captors even if it's the last thing we do. We will succeed or we will die trying but I have no intentions of dying just yet.

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 3.5**

 **Ginoza**

Starring at these walls, I still can't believe just how much gold and gems that are stuck onto them. I've never seen these things unrefined before, all I've seen were already purified gold turned into various jewelry and cut gems of various sizes and seeing them like this is just beautiful but I don't understand how they can glitter like they do inside of this dimly light cave. No matter where I look, I can't see an opening to allow sunlight to enter and the weirdest thing is that it's so warm in here. So weird…

The sound of disturbing water catches my attention and not long afterwards I see Kougami climb up the cave floor.

"You must be hungry. I brought you something." He tells me as he drops a few dead fish onto the cavern floor.

He seems rather proud of himself for presenting me with a few fish that he probably caught himself and quite frankly I don't even want to know how he managed to do that and I know that he means well and all but I can't bring myself to be excited of his gesture of kindness.

"Fish…" I mutter as I stare at it for a few minutes before shifting my gaze onto Kougami.

"It might be hard to believe but we eat fish too." Kougami states.

He didn't really need to tell me that, I mean I kind of figured that he must eat something and I seriously doubt it that his kind would be solemnly eating things like seaweed or other kinds of odd things that I probably don't know about.

"It's raw fish." I say.

"Raw fish? Is there another kind of fish that you would prefer?" He asks as if he's confused about what it is that I just told him.

I have to be honest other than the stories that I've heard here and there from sailors returning from a voyage, I don't know much about mermans and mermaids. I don't know if they have a unique culture to them. I don't know what they eat, if they drink nor do I even know how they populate their species. I don't know anything but I can assume that they probably don't know anything about cooking food. I seriously doubt it that they've experienced fire first hand.

"Kougami, raw means it's uncooked." I tell him as I casually join him and sit down, "Humans don't eat raw fish; they cook it in a stove or over a fire before eating it."

"Of course humans eat raw fish." He shoots back as he starts cutting the fish open with a sharp stone like it's nothing.

"No they don't. Eating raw fish can make us sick." I further tell him as I watch him clear out the fish of its internal organs and I have to control the ever growing nausea and the bile that seems to want to come up my throat.

"Is that what you've been told?" He asks after throwing the organs into the water and dips the cut open fish into the water to rinse it off of any organ debris it may still have. "There's a land that's pretty far from here. The humans that live there have a much different appearance from the humans that live around here but they eat raw fish all the time, they serve it so fancily though…" He tells me as he starts cutting off the skin and carefully picking at it to remove fishbones from the meat.

"I never left the capital. I don't even know my whole country; I only know the land that surrounds the capital." I admit.

The furthest I've ever been from home was the king's wood and most of my days was spent inside the castle walls where I studied the art of swordsmanship or other boring studies. My father never liked the idea of letting me ride outside of the city and the only way that he would allow me to go was if I had knights to escort me at all times but that didn't do me any good…

"Sounds like your father kept you isolated from the outside world." Kougami voices out as he tosses the fish bones and skin into the water behind him and they sink down into the abyss.

"He has ever since my mother died when I was young…" I tell him.

It feels like it was so long ago, I can barely remember about the event. I was only six when my mother suddenly became ill and I was taken away to another part of the castle in case whatever she had caught might have been contagious. The last time I had seen my mother was when she had collapsed onto the floor and then I was quickly taken away by my mother's handmaidens and I never saw my mother again.

After my mother died I wasn't allowed to see her body, I wasn't able to attend her funeral due to the maester saying that it would have negative effects on me but either way, it had a negative effect on me. My mother died and all I had left was my father, he never remarried even though countless proposals had been offered to him. He never accepted any of them…

"You're his only living child then?" Kougami further asks taking me out of my thoughts.

"I am…" I answer.

It's one of the main reasons why many on the council urged my father to remarry because if I would have suddenly fallen ill he would no longer have any heir and his line would be broken. My father didn't listen to their advice though and continued refusing proposals after proposals and maybe it was for the best but deep down maybe having a step mother and siblings wouldn't have been so bad. I was lonely…

"How did your mother die?" Kougami asks, dragging me out of my thoughts again.

"She suddenly became ill and the maester tried everything that he could to save her but in the end she died anyway." I briefly tell him as I try to ignore as he cuts open the other fish and empties it just like the previous one.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He says, dipping the fish into the water and starts skinning it and cuts out a large chunk of meat and inspects it carefully for any small bones that it may have before holding it out for me to take. "Here, you must eat."

I can't help but look at the rosy meat in disgust but I take it anyway between my fingers. It's slimy and it doesn't resemble how it would look if it was cooked and I honestly don't know what kind of people that Kougami has seen who eats raw fish but I'm glad I don't live there.

I quickly glance towards Kougami and then back at the piece of fish meat. He's waiting for me to eat it and I can't say that I don't like it until I've tried it. The thing is that I don't want to eat it but I've got to since it would be rude of me on my part to refuse his generosity.

I take a deep breath and quickly pop the piece into my mouth, quickly regretting it as the texture isn't what I was expecting at all. The taste is soft but the texture itself isn't something that I would want to eat everyday as I force myself to swallow.

"That bad huh… I'm afraid that's all I can bring you that won't get spoiled by the water." Kougami voices out unable to hold in a soft chuckle.

Raw fish…

It tastes okay so why must the texture be so disgusting? Kougami probably doesn't care either way and he sure looks like he's enjoying himself by my own expenses much to my dismay.

"I need to go home." I mutter.

I don't know how much time has passed since I disappeared, my father must already be aware that something has happened to me by now but I'm nowhere to be found. My father's men will search for me and will find nothing and before long false rumours of my whereabouts will start spreading and such things is enough to spark a war and send the country into chaos.

"Home you say. Let me ask you, what is home when you can't trust a single person that surrounds you?" He asks, his gaze locked onto me waiting for my response eagerly.

"Once I'm home, I'll be safe." I quickly say. Once I'm back home with my father things will be different. It will be easier to deal with the problem at hand after I tell him exactly what happened and what I overheard my captors talking about, what they were planning on doing with me.

"Will you?" He asks and continues, "Your mother suddenly became ill and died. I've seen it many times before, humans sneaking deadly substances into another human's drink or food to cause them harm. It's not uncommon."

"I'll be fine-"

"You won't!" He harshly cuts me off causing me to slightly jump at the sudden rise of his tone. "You say that you'll be fine but deep down you know that you're surrounded by others who would love to cause you harm because of what you are and going back there would be like deliberately entering the jaws of a predator." He further tells me without lowering his voice, but it feels more like he's lecturing me.

"Then what would you have me do? Stay inside this cave until I die?" I ask, not really caring for an answer.

Kougami claims that he brought me here in order to protect me, that he doesn't want me to leave because he says that there are people who still wants to hurt me and he's right there are people who want to hurt me but it's not just me. They want to hurt my father, they want to control my people and own my country.

"You could leave all of this behind and come with me." He tells me, his tone back calm and soft. His expression serious as he said each word, never removing his gaze from me.

Go with him? What does that even mean?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Kougami**

"You could leave all of this behind and come with me." I tell him, the words just spilling out ever so naturally.

This human is innocent, there's no doubt about it. He doesn't have a corrupted heart, his is pure as water and I would do anything to keep it as such. He doesn't deserve to feel all of this pain due to others greed and jealousy. He doesn't need to fear for his life and by whom it might end to. Ginoza deserves nothing more than a happy and peaceful life and I want to give him that since I have the power to do so.

"What are you talking about?" He asks, confused at what I just told him about what he should do.

"Leave all of this nonsense, all of this pain behind. Come with me, live under the vast ocean in peace." I explain.

"I will not abandon my people." He quickly barks back much to my dismay.

It's truly remarkable, his determination on fulfilling his duties towards is people is just simply amazing. Many nobles of his age that I've seen can't even come close to half of what Ginoza is. All I've seen of noble humans are those who behave poorly towards the poor and couldn't care less about what happens to them and for that I have a great amount of respect for Ginoza but he needs to be realistic here. I know he feels like he has an obligation to serve his people to the fullest of his powers but he is so naive. With everything that's happened to him, he should know that all of his attempts will be for nothing.

"Your people want to hurt you!" I state. Remembering those humans that I saw last night on the beach shore. Those men will never stop hunting Ginoza; they won't stop until they succeed into getting what it is that they want and as long as those humans are alive and well, Ginoza will never be safe and I don't understand why he can't see that like I can. "Why would you want to stay for such people?" I ask.

"Because not everyone are bad people." He replies.

Ginoza is the proof that there are good people left in this world but I've seen too few decent loving human beings. All the good ones end up suffering because of the bad ones. How many times have I seen a large mass of humans burn some of their females? How many times have I seen males be hang until they no longer can breathe? Too many times and in the end it was always the innocent that ended up being killed.

"I've lived through many centuries, I've seen more than you ever could in a single lifetime and I've seen more cruelty from humans than decent behavior." I tell him.

I've seen the rise and fall of countless empires that were said that they would never fall but they did none the less and its people slaughtered to the last child and have long since been forgotten as myths. Even this country that Ginoza calls his home was once separated, divided into different groups of people. Each part were once ruled by a different human until one started to expand their territory little by little until every foe was defeated and the country is now what it is today.

A hundred years ago I saw a massive city get devoured by the ocean waves in an instant and to this very day it still remains completely submerged under the vast sea. It was truly a sad and terrifying day, those humans had been friends and allies towards my people for many centuries. We lived together in perfect harmony and no one lived in fear in the great water city of Atlantica. Those humans were fair, graceful, beautiful and kind. Maybe it may be why I'm so attracted to Ginoza, he reminds me so much of them, so much that it's kind of frightening.

I will never be able to forget that night, even if I tried I could never forget it. The sea was violent, more than usual and the waves kept on getting higher and higher until the water suddenly resided for a few minutes until one large wave came crashing down onto the massive city. The wave washed away everything, female, male and child into the ocean.

So many deaths in an instant, none knew what had happened until the waves violently washed them away and what haunts me to this day was that we couldn't save a single life. The ocean was much too violent and any human that we did manage to get our hands on we lost them back.

I can still hear their screams and cries like it was yesterday, the memories still ever so vibrant deep within my mind. It was a very terrible tragedy that we just couldn't prevent. We tried but we failed and ever since that day, humans started haunting my people down for sport as if it is our punishment for failing our only friends and allies…

"I've never seen a merman before until I met you but I was told countless stories about them from returning sailors. About how mermans and mermaids drag men down into the abyss of the ocean to their deaths never to be seen again." Ginoza numbly tells me, catching my attention.

What the hell is he talking about!? Dragging humans down into the depths of the ocean to their deaths!? That's completely absurd, crazy, and unimaginable! Is that the reason why Ginoza was afraid when he first met me? How many more lies are being spread about my people I wonder? This is just terrible, no it is beyond terrible.

"We've done no such things." I tell him firmly.

"Countless men and women who departed onto the open sea have disappeared over the years and their bodies have never been found and some claim to have witness their comrades being dragged into the water." He further tells me.

I can tell that what Ginoza is telling me he believes it to be true; he's not making any of this up. I know for a fact that Ginoza isn't a liar and he wouldn't try to make up stories in order to justify his reasons for being distant towards someone. He's the kind who is straight forward and he wouldn't shy away to say what is on his mind but he's also the kind of human who expects to be treated the same way in return. He expects that others will tell him the truth and nothing but the truth and for that Ginoza is naive because he fails to realize that he's surrounded by liars.

Humans are known for their dishonesty and shadiness towards their brethrens in order to get an upper hand on them and it is quite a rarity to find humans who are fair and kind. Humans like Ginoza are extremely rare and for so long I believed that there were no longer any anymore. After the people of Atlantica tragically perished into the sea, I honestly believed that it was the end of all good humans in this world but I found Ginoza and he gives me faith that maybe there are more just like him but he's too naive, too innocent and because of that he needs to be protected at all cost.

"We are the ones who are constantly being hunted by humans and yet we constantly save their lives when they fall overboard their large wooden vessels due to their drunken state or we do on purpose to show our face, endangering ourselves in the process in order to guide them away from an upcoming storm when we could easily let them sail right into it to their death but we don't." I tell him and add, "We don't kill humans; they're the ones who kill us for nothing more than for the glory of it."

I don't know how many years Ginoza has been lied to by other humans. I can understand if he wants to believe his kind over my words but he can't deny that I saved his life when he deliberately jumped into the ocean last night. He can't deny that I didn't try to drag him down to the bottom of the ocean to his death; instead I brought him back up to the surface.

"Then what happens to those who disappear?" He asks.

"They were asked the same thing that I asked you." I answer as I extend a hand towards him before adding, "Come with me."

He silently stares at my hand but his mind would probably be very loud right now if I could hear it. He's thinking about my words and when he slightly backs away from me, I know that he's finally figured it out but I wish he hadn't backed away because that only means that he won't be coming with me.

"I have to go home." He mutters, bringing his knees closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"Ginoza-"

"Leave me alone!" He shouts back as he buries his face into his knees and I hesitate about leaving him alone but I do and I submerge myself under the water for a swim in order to give Ginoza some much needed space. I know it can't be easy being in his position and I hope that this brief alone time will be enough o allow him to think over my offer.

The easiest decision that Ginoza could make, the most logical choice that he could do would be to leave all of this madness behind. To go far away from all of this and I can give him that but in order to give him this peace and serenity, he needs to abandon everything that he once knew. He must abandon his life as a human and if he does come to decide that, I can make him one of us. He won't be a pure blood like me but he'll be one of us all of the same and I'll make sure that he never has to feel sadness or pain ever again…

Humans, offering them to abandon their lives on the surface to live under the ocean is nothing new. It happens all of the time but to be honest they are always some poor human who really just doesn't have anything to lose. They have no wealth or a chance to be anything more than a peasant so making the choice of leaving everything behind isn't much of a problem for them.

Ginoza on the other hand is completely different…

He's a prince…

Ginoza might not have had such a happy childhood since his mother died when he was so young and due to that he was completely isolated from the outside world by his father but in general, Ginoza has always had a comfortable life since he was born. He's never had to worry if he would eat today nor had to scratch his head about what he could wear for the next few days. He's always had everything handed to him on a silver platter, never having to do anything for them.

Ginoza has never known anything else other than comfort. The thing is that he's probably never had to do anything his entire life. It doesn't matter what it is, there's always someone to do everything for him so when it comes to being on his own it must really scare him because deep down, Ginoza doesn't know anything other than being a prince. He was brought up to be the perfect prince, he's been raised to one day take his father's place. Nothing else is expected of him, all he's expected to be is to smile at his people and behave properly and that's a sad thing.

Ginoza is a very kind human. He's gentle, caring and sweet but he's so naive and just too innocent for this dark world but it's not his fault and I solemnly blame his father for isolating his son for so long like he did. I understand the king loves his son but he's smothering his child without even realizing it and that's not good and because of that I fear that the world on the surface will tear Ginoza apart and nothing will be left of him. His gentleness, his kindness and sweetness will be stripped away from him and he'll no longer be this kind human that I've come to know.

I want to save Ginoza and my greatest fear is that he won't allow me to save him from this dark world. He's so concentrated that he has to be there for his people and I understand that, I really do because I would do anything for mine but the huge difference between us is that my people won't brutalize me. They won't betray me with treachery and they won't stab me in the back either once I'm no longer looking.

Even though Ginoza knows that his people are dangerous and that he doesn't know who he can and can't trust, he still has faith in them. He still strongly believes that there are good people, that those who would want to cause him harm are only a few and not many but I seriously doubt it that's the case.

If Ginoza had accepted my offer to become one of us, we'd be swimming together right now but instead I'm on my own in this endless clear blue and I wonder how Ginoza would look like as one of us. I wonder what colour would be the scales of his tail. Would it be the colour of his eyes just like mine is or would it be another colour all entirely? Would his tail be long and elegant or would it be short and delicate?

I do know one thing for sure; Ginoza would definitely look beautiful as one of us. He already looks beautiful and graceful as it is right now and I know he would become even more beautiful. He'd definitely steal the title as the most beautiful under the sea, that's without a doubt…

A sharp pain suddenly jolts me out of my thoughts as I feel something violently pull me backwards by the tail which further sends jolts of pain throughout my body and the more I struggle the pain keeps on getting worse until I found myself entangled within a bunch of ropes until I can no longer move no matter how hard I try but it didn't take long until I hit the surface only to come face to face with a few humans and in that moment I know that I'm in trouble.

"Will you look at that. I hit the jackpot boys!" I hear a loud voice in the distance followed by a loud ruckus of cheering and laughter as I'm being pulled towards the dock.

There must have been hooks floating in the water and I swam right into them without noticing the damn things and my tail must have gotten caught by a few. How could I have been so careless, I should have kept my guard up but I didn't and now I'm in real trouble but I don't care what happens to me. Ginoza is still in that cave, I can't abandon him.

"It's not a female but how much do you think a male's tail is worth?" I hear the same voice ask forcing me to struggle in order to try and free myself which only resulted in more laughter from the small crowd on the dock and more pain on myself in the process.

Damn humans! They just love to watch anything struggle and claw as they try to survive, everything is a damn game to them and if they think they can cut off my tail so easily without a fight they'll have another thing coming. I've never harmed a human before but today is the day I'll make my first and if I must I'll kill them, I'll kill them all.

"The value goes by their colours and this one is quite a common colour I'm afraid." I hear another voice answer followed by slow and steady footsteps on the dock catching the fisherman's attention in the process.

"Who the hell are you!?" A cocky greasy looking boy quickly asks only to get a sharp slap in the back of the head by an older man.

"Fucking idiot! He's the Stone Commander, the liege lord of the Stone Islands." The older man answers and I recognize the voice as the one who had dared ask how much my tail could be worth.

I struggled some more which only resulted in receiving more pain but it was worth it since now I can see this so called commander that seems to know what my people's tails are worth and he's not exactly what I had expected. By the tone of his voice I was expecting some middle aged human but he's not. Instead, he's young, younger than what I would have given him by the sound of his voice but his clothing doesn't impress me in the slightest.

This man is a commander and a liege lord? A liege lord is some high born human and yet this human, this man is dressed in clothes that I usually see peasant humans wear. They are worn and rather tattered, he doesn't look like Ginoza at all. I know that Ginoza holds a much higher position on the social ladder but a liege lord should look somewhat similar to a prince.

More footsteps catch my attention as more men poorly dressed in the similar fashion as the commander gather around him so I'll be assuming that they must be his men and that confuses me even more. I've never seen a liege lord dress exactly the same as their men, you can always tell their high borns apart by how they are dressed and if the older man hadn't said anything I wouldn't have been able to guess who was the leader.

"My apologies m'lord." The greasy boy nervously apologies before asking, "How much do you believe this one would be worth?"

The commander steps closer as he inspects me as I struggle against my restraints again and I could swear the more I struggle the less movements I can make much to my frustrations. If I can get myself out of this predicament, I don't know how I'll manage to do that but if I do I'll do whatever it takes to convince Ginoza to come with me. These humans are savages; I can't let him go back to these madmen. I just can't, he's much better than this, he deserve better!

"Not worth enough to replace the fingers that you'll lose I'm afraid and by the looks of this one, that's only assuming he doesn't bite anything else off in the process." The commander answers and if I could I would strangle this man. How dare he make up such lies!? It must be humans like him that filled Ginoza's head with filthy lies about my people just like he's doing right now. "If he had an iridescent coloured tail then that would be a whole different kind of story." He adds and that's pure bullshit! Who does this human think that he is!? Iridescent coloured tail? That's something that doesn't exist, none of my people has ever had such a colour, it's pure lies!

The shape and length of our tails differs from individual to individual but the colour itself doesn't vary much. You'll either see blue, green, red, pink, golden… Basically every colour of corals that you can find at the bottom of coral reefs are colours of our tails since corals grow from our tails once we die. Coral reefs are our graveyards, it's our resting place.

"I have no care for the colour but I am in need of a sacrifice to calm the great ocean god, I'll give you an hefty three hundred silvers for your troubles." The commander says as he holds out a small brown pouch and I just can't help but stare at the man in disbelief.

Ocean god…? He just wants an excuse to justify his reason for killing me. There is no Ocean god in this world, a sacrifice won't keep you safe or make your voyage on the sea any better. It's just plain murder.

"A fair trade m'lord." The older man responds taking the small brown pouch and a large human takes hold of the ropes that is keeping me restrained as he pulls me away towards a much larger wooden vessel followed by the damn commander.

"Fucking-"

"Keep it for another time Dormer." The commander calmly cuts off the large human that's holding onto my restraints as he watches the bastards who caught me in their shit sail away into their vessel towards the open sea.

My day really just keeps on getting better and better…

It started good though, I mean I met Ginoza and I had him to myself for quite some time but now I'm surely in one sticky situation and quite frankly I have no idea how I'm going to get myself out of this one. I guess I can always try this so call biting strength that the commander claims that I have, who knows maybe I have a dormant strength to bite off a few fingers that I don't know anything about…

The large human pulls me completely out of the water and lays me down onto the wooden dock much to my dismay as I struggle to free myself again and maybe if I struggle enough I'll somehow manage to get back into the water and yet I know it's useless to even try and yet I can't help myself. I need to break free!

"Allow me my lord." I hear a man say as another starts pouring water on my body which only confuses me. What is going on here?

My instinct quickly kicks in as I struggle again, a bit more this time only to get held down by the commander himself.

"Easy, easy…" The commander quietly says as he inspects me from head to toe. "I only need you to keep him still for me Kane. That will be all." He adds as he pulls out a knife and starts cutting at the ropes one by one instead of cutting my heart out or slit my throat and have my blood spill out all over this dock.

One human keeps on coating me with salted water from the sea, making sure I don't get dry as the commander keeps on cutting the ropes all the while being careful not to cut me in the process and after a while I simply stopped trying to move which allowed the human to get rid of the ropes that were keeping me restraint much faster and then he turned his attention towards the hooks that were still stuck in my tail.

Having my arms free once again feels great but I would feel better once these humans lets go of me. All I want to do is return back into the sea and get back to Ginoza as fast as I can. I honestly don't know how much time as passed already, I just know that I've been gone for much too long already but I appreciate that this human is going through the trouble in removing those damn hooks but I must say that pulling each hook out of my wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. With each pull it stung but the commander managed to get every single one out of my tail slowly in order to prevent further injuries.

"This will sting quite a bit." The commander suddenly says and just as he finished speaking those words I feel the humans who have been holding me up until now tighten their grip on my arms just as their commander started pouring a clear liquid where the hooks had been on my tail. I wince as the liquid touches each cut but the burning sensation doesn't last for very long until it goes away completely and I no longer feel any sort of pain.

I don't understand why this man would be tending to my injuries; I strongly believed that he would have killed me. After all he paid the ones who had caught me in their trap, he admitted his desire to sacrifice me to his so called make believe ocean god and yet instead of doing that his sole interest has been to first free me from that entrapment and then proceeded to care to the wounds they had caused.

I cautiously watch the young man apply a brown paste on each cut until he was done and then I feel myself being lifted from the wooden dock and the next thing I know I got dropped back into the water and I'm not sure why I resurfaced when I should have quickly retreated back into the depths of the ocean but I did.

"You might want to stay away from the shallow waters for the next few days. Now get out of here." The commander tells me as he puts his knife away.

This man resembles like a savage human by how he is dressed, they all do. They don't resemble Ginoza at all, their clothes tattered and filthy but their appearance does not match their behavior at all and I think I might understand what exactly happened back there. Everything he had said was a pure lie in order to obtain me without causing a fight with the fishermen. His sole intention had been to simply tend to my injuries and to allow me to go free afterwards; he never had any intentions of killing me from the very beginning.

Although each of these humans are dressed in poor clothing, each one are wearing the exact same metal plate on their chest over their tattered clothes with the same symbol engraved on it. The head of a female wearing a crown with her eyes closed behind two axes of different shape. I wonder if I would describe this to Ginoza if he'd be able to recognize it because if he could, would these people be a safe haven to him?

I submerge myself into the water, not looking back as I speed up into a rapid swim back towards the cave. Hoping that Ginoza hasn't been too worried by my absence even though I'm not exactly sure how long I've been gone but it's been much too long in my opinion.

"Ginoza!" I shout as I surface, wasting little time to climb onto the edge of the cave floor only to see nothing. "Ginoza?" I call back to him again as I look around but nothing. The cave is empty and all I can hear is the constant dripping echoing throughout the cave in a gentle echo but Ginoza is gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Sugo**

That sure is something that you don't see every day these days now but it does feel good seeing Merpeople once in a while. It serves to prove to us that the ocean is in fact still alive and doing well. Maybe after seeing a healthy looking merman perhaps it's a foreshadowing of good luck and we'll be able to find the prince unharmed and well.

I couldn't afford to waste any time this morning and making our way out onto open sea was a priority but after hearing that man ask about how much a merman's tail could be worth I just couldn't let it slide. I had to step in and end this madness before it was too late and my people would not have stood still either. If I would have done nothing, they would have and it surely would have ended with all five fishermen dead.

No one may disrespect Merpeople in the presence of the Islanders. It is a harsh crime to do such a thing and to take the life of Merpeople would be enough to call for an immediate execution. To the Islanders, the Merpeople are sacred beings of the sea, the very heart of the ocean and you do not harm a sacred being no matter what.

Shedding off three hundred silvers to those fishermen was basically a free trade since they could easily have gotten quite a large amount of gold if they had spoken to the right trader and then that merman would have been transported out of the country to be showcased in public in another country and quite frankly that would have been much too cruel and disrespectful to have a merman trapped within a man made pool.

Slavery is prohibited in this country and the mutilation of the Merpeople is against the law decreed by the current king at the beginning of his reign as a wedding gift to his new queen but once you're out on the sea, there are not many witnesses to turn you in to the crown for your crimes if you speared a few Merpeople and most fishermen would never rat each other out but as long as I can, I will never stand and watch one get killed.

I am the liege lord of the Stone Islands and that means that I am the warden of the sea, what happens on the surface of these waters is my business and my laws will be obeyed or there will be no mercy. I won't hesitate to mount a few heads on a spike and the decorate the Pykes as a warning to all sailors who would dare to enter my waters.

Putting all of the madness of this morning behind me, the sea is quite calm and clear today. I couldn't ask for better weather and the wind is just right, we'll be able to do good tides today but the sea is empty and all I do manage to spot are nothing more than fishermen's boat but from what I can see they seem to be having a good day themselves which is good. With this ever growing chaos, the last thing we need is a famine on our hands.

Anyway, if the weather keeps up like this, we'll be docking in Donau before sunset and I don't just speak for myself when I say this but being able to dock into port before nightfall would be a very good thing. Sailing onto open waters at night is no easy task and it's hard on the men. You can't leave a ship unattended when you're out on open waters. You never know when the weather might turn sour and when you're out on the open sea, it often turns sour rather quickly and I need my men in fighting shape and a sleepless night wouldn't do me much good.

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 5.5**

 **Kougami**

This can't be happening, where could Ginoza have gone? It's impossible that someone found him inside of that cave even if Ginoza would have screamed for help; the only explanation for his disappearance is that he must have left himself.

Ginoza…

You're such a fool…

The Stone Commander warned me to stay away from any shallow waters for the next few days and I can understand why. It looks like fishing season has come on early this year and that means the shallow waters are going to be lurking with dangerous things but I have to search for Ginoza. I have to find him and fast before any harm can come to him but where could he have gone?

I didn't think that Ginoza would have attempted to leave the cave all by himself. I'm certain that he was probably able to reach the surface by himself without any problem since I know he can float and swim better than most humans that I've seen but still. How could he be so reckless? He knows exactly how dangerous it is out here and I seriously doubt it that he got worried and came out searching for me.

"The humans are quite agitated today aren't they?"

I look over my shoulder only to find that it's Tsunemori. That woman always seems to be able to find me no matter where I am. It's almost scary how she does it; I'm convinced that she has a spy that follows me around all day because even if she doesn't magically find me somewhere, she can always guess what I did right to the point.

"That's why you should go back into the deep zone Tsunemori." I tell her as I return my gaze onto the docks.

I watch the humans work on the dock. Some are fixing the dock itself and it looks like some are even working on expanding the already large dock. Others are tending to their fishing gears such as nets and other things that I'm sure as hell I would not want to be caught into while others are working on the docked ships.

Fueno is a busy port, after all it's the main port for the capital of this country and I don't know why but I thought that maybe Ginoza would have come here for that very reason since it's so close to his home but by how everyone at the docks are minding their own business like they do every time it's fishing season, I'm positive that Ginoza didn't come here at all so that leaves me to wonder where did he go?

"You say that but I know you'll do the complete opposite." Tsunemori voices out and of course I'm going to do the opposite. I'm working on something very important and besides I'm a man and she's a woman. She should take better care of herself, whatever shit I throw myself into I'll be fine.

"I have something important that I must do." I say as I debate with myself if I should wander towards the capital or if I should go the other way around. I can't guess how Ginoza would think, what would he do and when? Argh, why couldn't he just have stayed put like I told him to!?

"Please don't tell me it's a human Kougami." She voices out and I know she's staring at me with judgmental eyes but I don' turn around to confirm my suspicions I just know that she is.

Yes I have helped my fair share of humans for the last hundred years not because I have to but because I want to. Every single human I helped was done in good faith and I guess I kind of figured if I can help many humans then maybe the good word would spread about my people. That we are not heartless creatures of the sea like so many claims us to be. We are not killers and we don't drag humans down into the sea to their deaths just like Ginoza has been told over and over again. I want some good things to be said about us but so far everything that I've done seems to be for nothing.

"It's a human." I admit as I swim away but doing so in a careful manner. The last thing that I want is to be seen by the wrong human.

"Kougami if we haven't been told countless times to stay away from them-"

"We haven't been told once, I know." I finished Tsunemori's sentence and add, "But this human is different and he needs help."

I continue looking on the shore as I swim but so far I haven't been able to see Ginoza anywhere and that worries me. I'm afraid that he might have decided to wander deeper into the country and if he gets caught again by the wrong people away from the sea, it will be problematic for me.

"Kougami sometimes humans just don't want our help. Please don't beat yourself up over this; you need to learn to let things go." Tsunemori further tells me and yes she is right. Some humans don't want to be helped and that's okay but right now it's not the same.

Ginoza in a way isn't that hard to understand if you try to get to know him by simple observation since he's easy to read. His eyes tell a story about him, he can't hide how he feels because of them and I know he wants help. He probably knows what it is that he has to do but he's afraid to do it. He needs help and he needs it very badly too but the thing is that he's caught between a wall. He doesn't know who he can trust and that's dangerous, more than he realizes I think.

"The situation is complicated Tsunemori. It's not that he doesn't want help, he's confused and doesn't know who he can trust." I tell her. "This human is stuck in a conflict that has nothing to do with him. He's just a target to some because he just happens to exist." I add and that's basically how it is.

Everything that Ginoza is facing right now is all because of his father, because his father is the king. He's a target because he's valuable and he's the sole heir to the throne. I don't know if Ginoza even realizes just how valuable he truly is, if he ends up in the wrong hands it could be the end of this whole country as we know it.

"And why did he-"

"Look Tsunemori. Last night I saw a human jump off a high cliff, he was lucky I was there because he would have died." I explain as I stop swimming and turned my gaze onto her before continuing, "I took him to the glittering cave for safety but it's obvious that he'll never be safe up here so I made him an offer to make him one of us and I think I might have scared him."

"How old is this human?" Tsunemori asks and that's a good question. I know that his mother died when he was very young but he never did say how old he was. Not that he needed to, it's obvious that he's probably nearing nineteen.

"I'm not sure exactly…" I admit. "His father is this country's king. I think it sums up the whole situation." I further add and I see Tsunemori's eyes widen at the mention of the king.

"The prince!? I've seen him a few times, Kougami he's just a child!" Tsunemori tells me and yeah to us Ginoza is basically a child since we've lived for a few hundred years already but I wouldn't call Ginoza a child though.

For a young human, Ginoza is very mature and that is probably due to his upbringing but he doesn't think like a child and he's much too talk for being one also. Ginoza's appearance is delicate and graceful. I guess most female humans would die to have such a male as their mate of which I can't blame them. I'd want him for myself if I could.

"I'm not even sure if the prince is sixteen yet, I know that he's fifteen at least so how could you make him such an offer?" She quickly adds and I can't help but look at her oddly.

Ginoza is not older than sixteen?

I have to say that he doesn't look sixteen but if that's true it means that Ginoza isn't even old enough to take the throne yet. That means if his father was to suddenly die, someone else would have to rule in his stead until Ginoza would come of age but… If Ginoza is really only sixteen, he might not be old enough to rule yet but he is legally able to marry and if that's the case I think I know what his father's enemies might have in mind and if that's the case I need to find Ginoza and fast before it's too late.

"I know it was stupid on my part." I admit, I shouldn't have been so straightforward about it like I did. I should have known that it would have scared him and it did. Ginoza fled from me because of my own stupidity and I have to make things right. "Tsunemori you have to understand where I'm coming from here. He's innocent and naive, if we don't do something Ginoza will get hurt because of what he is." I tell her.

The more I think about how these humans behave towards each other it makes me sick down to my stomach. I will never be able to understand why they would do such things to each other. Ginoza, if it's true that he is only sixteen and hopefully not any younger than that, how could these mature humans use a child to achieve their selfish goals? He's a child, an innocent being who should not have to worry about anything but he does. It's insulting.

"And you thought by turning him into one of us would solve his problems?" She asks and I have to fight the urge to say yes but I know that it wouldn't have fixed all of his problems. "We get hunted constantly too you know, we are not immune to pain of the world and he's no different." She adds and she's right. Like always, Tsunemori is always right and the thing is that I didn't think everything through when I offered him this chance to become one of us.

The thing is that yes he would feel pain from humans who hunts us but that's only if you wander too close to the ports and docks but if we remain in the open sea well it doesn't happen too often and the main reason why I wanted to make Ginoza one of us is become he would never be betrayed by his new family. His new people would protect him and care for him like his people should but they don't. Ginoza shows them kindness and how does he get repaid? By treachery, that's how.

"I know…" I mutter.

"Kougami you say that the prince is in danger. Well the way I see it, we should help him but also allow him to grow into becoming his own." Tsunemori tells me and I guess that's something that we can do too but I can't say that I like that option. "He'll be king someday and if we can give the prince a good view of us, maybe our horror will end too." Tsunemori adds and that's a thing too.

I know that I don't have to explain the theory that I just came up with a few minutes ago, just from the look in Tsunemori's eyes I know that she's come to the same conclusion as I have but she's right. Helping Ginoza and get him to learn that my people are not the evil creatures that humans say that we are could be the break that we need.

Ginoza is without a doubt a victim and he's surrounded by dangerous people but there has to be some humans that are loyal to his father and that would surely be a hard one to figure out because I know for a fact that there are some humans that are very good liars. Just thinking back at the commander from before, I couldn't tell that he was lying until he started helping me. I seriously thought that he was being serious but he wasn't and all the while that he was lying he kept on a straight face. A face that the fishermen didn't even dare to object and from what I can tell his men would follow him to the end of the world if need be.

"I got caught in a fishermen's trap not long ago, a human saved my skin. A commander, known as the Stone Commander and apparently he's also the liege lord of the Stone Islands wherever that is." I tell her and I don't know why but I just have this feeling that maybe that human could be a very reliable ally to Ginoza.

The commander is young, he's definitely in his twenties that's I'm most certain but he's mature and honest. Well when he isn't lying for our sake that is but it was for a good cause and it clearly didn't benefit him at all by helping me, I mean he lost three hundred silvers but he didn't care. To him it was just simple silver, he wasn't in love with it like some humans that I've seen in the past. Some would dare to trade one of their daughters for a hundred silver of which I've seen happen much to my disgust.

"You're an idiot." Akane suddenly blurts out.

"How am I an idiot exactly?" I ask.

"The Stone Islands are remnants of Islands around here, their main city used to be Atlantica until it was buried under water." Tsunemori explains and that's basically is new to me. Well to be honest I'm guilty for being solemnly focused on the city of Atlantica, I mean the city itself was beautiful. How many times can you come across a water city, it was amazing. "The last I heard about the Stone Islands was that they had been forced to dock all of their ships and had to remain on the islands as punishment for the failed coup by their liege lord fifty years ago." Tsunemori further adds.

"The commander I saw was young but mature for his age." I tell her but I can't stop thinking about how poorly they were all dressed. Surely there must be a mistake somewhere because I remember the Atlanticans always wore clean and proper clothes, they wouldn't have been caught dead wearing such rags.

"All the nobles on the Island had been executed for treason after the failed coup. The commander isn't related to the former liege lord that is for certain." Tsunemori states and that makes sense but so cruel still.

If all of this happened fifty years ago then I'll assume that the decision to have all the nobles executed back then must have been Ginoza's grandfather and for that I have to wonder if the commander would risk his life in protecting the prince of this country considering what the crown did to the Islanders.

"The men I saw today didn't resemble the humans in Atlantica. They wore tattered clothes but even though their clothing was terrible, they still seemed somewhat clean." I tell her followed by a stern gaze by Tsunemori.

"Clothing should be the least of your concerns right now." She tells me and again I have to say that she's right but still it was really striking. She didn't see them and I'm sure if she had, she'd probably be stuck on the mental image too. "The Islanders are known for sailing so I'll look for their ship and you search for the prince and don't' try to do anything stupid." Tsunemori adds and I have to say that I'm okay with that plan.

I'm positive that the ones that I met won't try to hurt Tsunemori, not after the kindness they showed me anyway and quite honestly I prefer searching for Ginoza on my own. I feel that things might get rough pretty fast if I'm not careful but I have a feeling that things might get rough not because of my carelessness but because Ginoza might be in danger and if that happens, I'm not looking forward into doing what I'll have to do. It's not a pleasant experience, I'd rather have my tail impaled instead but I'll do it if I have to.

"Yeah. Thanks." I thank Tsunemori before she swims away and I head further away from the capital.

Ginoza is smart and I know that he must be somewhat resourceful to some extend even though he's been isolated his whole life and to be honest going straight for the capital I don't think it would be something that he would do. If he tries to think like the criminals that are after him, they would expect Ginoza to go straight for the capital so his best bet would be to go the opposite way but it would have to be a place where he could head home in a snitch…

Fueno is the main port of this country, it's the largest for the capital but there's another not too far from here. It's not a busy port like Fueno but many ships do dock there for the night so it might be a good idea to check that port out and hopefully I'll find Ginoza safe and unharmed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Ginoza**

I never thought that it was possible to be this tired, there isn't an inch on my body that isn't aching and sometimes I wonder if leaving the cave might have been a mistake on my part but it's done now. No use fretting about what is done, the cave is long gone but being isolated inside of the capital all of my life can't really comes as a surprise to me that I'm this tired after traveling this far on foot. I'm not made for this kind of thing but I did it, I made it to where I was aiming for in one piece. Filthy though but still, I made it without attracting any trouble to myself.

If I had waited for Kougami to take me back to the surface, I knew it would never have happened. He didn't want me to go back that was pretty obvious from the start and when he said that he could make me one of them I just had to get away because I knew then that's what he had wanted from the start. That's why he was keeping me in that cave and I'm sorry, I refuse to abandon my people.

The swim back to the surface didn't take as much time as I thought that it would and much to my relief when I resurfaced I found myself not far from the port of Fueno and I knew if I headed north I could reach Donau but the road from point A to Point B had taken much longer than I had initially expected.

I could have gone directly to the capital and initially I was going to go there but then I started thinking about what my captors would do and fear took over. What if that's what they wanted? Chances are that I never would have been able to take a step inside of the keep, who am I kidding I never would have made it to the front gates without having been captured.

My only option was to head north to Donau since it's not a busy port but it still attracts many merchant sailors and I'm sure I'll be able to find someone that is loyal to my father there and if not I'll just have to head west and hope for the best that I can somehow make it to Harrenhall without being seen.

Going directly to the capital is too dangerous since I don't know who is loyal to my father and who is not and the more I think about it, I know someone orchestrated the attack in the king's wood so I have to go somewhere that I know my father's enemies won't be there and who better than my father's bannermen.

To be honest though, I would prefer going to Harrenhall to meet lord Umber. I've seen him many times when I was a child, he's my father's oldest friend but he's so far away and I'm not sure if I could reach the massive castle without getting myself captured and when I think about the distance in order to get to my father's other bannermen, the list keeps on shrinking fast and I'm left with only a few options to choose from.

One thing about being filthy is that no one seems to be paying much attention to me or maybe it's just because I'm on a port and being filthy is rather common but right now it helps until I decide what it is I should do. Or maybe no one wants to come near me in fear of catching some deadly disease, from what I've been able to overhear most men around here are quite superstitious of… Well everything.

I remember learning about every settlements in Ilindor and about each noble houses that occupied them and I learned that Donau was known as the most beautiful port in the entire world but it's not the only thing that it's known for. Donau is called the flower city and is the entrance to the reach if you head south. I must say that the books left out some details; they could have emphasized Donau's appearance more because it is really a beautiful city.

A familiar voice catches my attention as I look towards the docked ships to find a man walking down the ramp of his ship when an idea suddenly crossed my mind. It might work, I mean even though he's nothing more than a captain on a merchant ship for the navy, he has seen me countless of times before so it's worth a shot and if it works I know exactly where to go.

"Captain Elingston, I'm in need of your assistance." I call out catching the man's attention in the process, his eyes suddenly widen as he quickly looked at me from head to toe. I know that I must look rather terrible but it can't be that bad, right?

"Your royal highness, you're quite far from the capital." He voices out but clearly that's not exactly what he wanted to say but at least he recognized me which is good. I wish I didn't look like a peasant that could be from the slums but I guess it just can't be helped right now.

"Very." I reply back before going straight to the point, "I need to go to Emerald Harbor."

"Emerald Harbor? That's not exactly near the capital." He states as I feel his old greyish eyes locked onto me as if he's judging my intentions much to my dismay.

"I know." I admit.

"Is your father even aware about where you are?" He asks after a few minutes of awkward silence catching me a bit by surprise. Isn't the captain even aware about my disappearance from the king's wood at that the men I had with me were killed? Is my father even looking for me right now?

"No…" I mutter.

"I've known you for many years and not once have I ever seen you be rebellious towards your father." The captain tells me with a disapproval tone in his voice as he spoke.

I'm not being rebellious and I want to deny it but I can't because it really doesn't look good on my part. It's just; I don't know what to say, how do I even explain everything that's happened to me since my capture in the king's woods? If I tell him too much, will that information cause harm to the captain for knowing too much or will it come biting me back hard?

"It's complicated." I mutter back.

"Complicated…?" He repeats as he crosses his arms against his chest. "Feeling a sense of wanting to be adventurous now are we?" He asks.

"Not really." I answer back. On normal circumstances maybe I would have said yes, I've always wanted to visit my country, to go everywhere and meet my people personally and be what I was born to be but right now I just want to be under a roof and feel safe surrounded by people that I know that I can trust.

Maester Aemon always told me that a prince should be kind to his people and in turn when the prince becomes king, he is loved by all and his rule is a happy one with full of prosper for many years to come. I want to become a good king but as it is right now, I don't feel like I would be a good one. There are so many things that I do not know and what I need to know can't be learned in textbooks, I need to see it with my own two eyes. In order to have change I need to know what it is or nothing will ever improve.

"I need to speak to lord Richmond and he's the liege lord of Emerald Harbor." I explain why I wish to go to Emerald Harbor and I think that it's a decent reasoning for wanting to go there.

"I have an obligation of taking you back to the Tearling your highness." The old captain states.

I understand why he wants to take me back to the capital, if my father found out that the captain had me and failed to bring me home it could be trouble for him but I can't go home. Not right now and I'm starting to think that maybe my father didn't alert anyone about my disappearance because he doesn't want the people to panic and maybe he himself doesn't know exactly who to trust which is why I must speak to lord Richmond in person. My father was never much of a fan about sending messages by carrier birds, he never trusted them with sensitive information.

"House Richmond is my father's most trusted bannermen, they've always been loyal to my family from the old age and right now there is no other house that I can trust." I explain and for the first time since meeting Captain Elingston, his expression soften much to my relief.

"I understand." He states with a light nod of the head. "I believe that you know your way to the cabins. My ship will be docked here in Donau for the night, it be best if you didn't wander about." He further tells me.

"Thank you, Captain Elingston." I thank him when something seems to have caught his eyes.

"The Dread…" He mutters with clear distaste.

"The Dread?" I ask as I turn around to see a ship sailing its way towards the docks. It's a rather massive ship that I've never seen before but it has a creepy appearance to it. I've never seen a ship with black sails before and I sure would remember it if I had seen it but it sure does match the name of the ship. The Dread, it sounds like a ghost ship that I would read in books when I was young. I never thought that something that looks so ominous actually existed. The ship itself looks to be in great shape and of great quality but everything else just creeps me out.

"The Stone Islanders, a group of barbarians if you ask me. Not a flock you'd want to be near your royal highness and it looks like they'll be docking here too for the night so off you go to the ship." The captain tells me and I don't try to argue with him and instead I climb the ramp onto Captain Elingston's ship as I hear roaring of voices in the distance as the ship called the Dread keeps on getting closer.

 **XXX**

* * *

 **XXX**

All thanks to the captain, I was finally able to get myself cleaned up. Getting all of that mud off of me and out of my hair took longer than I had expected but it's finally done and now I have some clean and dry clothes to put on. I never thought that clean clothes could ever feel so good even if they are a little too big for me…

I lost track of time inside of that cave. It felt like many hours had passed, maybe even days had gone by while I was in there but in reality I've only been missing for a little over twenty four hour period which is comforting a little but still. I've been away for far too long, I long for home.

Loud roaring laughters drags me out of my thoughts as I step closer towards a small window of the cabin to look outside to see the docks packed with people. Ever since the Islanders docked into port, there hasn't been a single minute of silence. You'd think they've never been to shore before by the way that they are behaving. Like tonight will be the last night they will have in this world before they die or something.

I step away from the window and exit the cabin even though I was told not to and I don't know why I wander off the ship when I know deep down that it's a bad idea and yet I still do it.

Everyone on the docks and in Donau all seem to be enjoying themselves even though the presence of the Islanders is clearly visible none seem to mind. The citizens of Donau sure don't so I guess that it's okay and yet these people seem to be run downs. I mean they are dressed very poorly all in black except for the small breast plate that is made out of brass that has their sigil inscribed on it.

I navigate through the crowd when I feel someone getting knocked into me from the back and I lose my balance and as I'm falling face first towards the edge of the dock I feel something grab onto my arm, pulling me backwards only to come face to face with a giant of a man with a pretty nasty scar on the right side of his face and messy brown hair wearing the Islanders' style clothing and sigil.

In all my life I've never seen such a large man before. Even the sword that's secured in its hilt is the largest I've ever seen but it's the look in his eyes that scares him and I look away as if I'm hoping that I'll be able to escape his gaze somehow.

"Pardon me." I mutter but I can't bring myself to look him in the eyes as I spoke.

"Did I frighten you little bird?" He asks, his voice deep and somewhat stern that matches very well for his size.

"No…" I mutter back as I keep my gaze down.

"You're not a very good liar are you boy?" He inquires more and I feel my stomach drop and all that keeps going through my head is that I need to return to the Grace. I shouldn't have gotten off the ship and I need to go back or this man is going to kill me.

"Does it please you to scare people?" I ask and I'm not sure why I did, the words just slipped out of my mouth without thinking.

"It pleases me to kill people." He replies grabbing my arm, bringing me slightly closer towards him.

I can feel myself starting to shake, he knows that I'm afraid and he loves it. It's like he feeds off fear and I believe him that he loves killing people, I can see it in his eyes. He must have killed hundreds of people with that giant sword of his, I just don't want to be another body count on his long list.

"Dormer quit torturing the lad."

The large man Dormer releases the hold of my arm as another approached. He was another Islander but he's shorter than Dormer and yet still taller than I am but this one seems cleaner looking even though his clothing is somewhat tattered just like the rest. His hair isn't messy like the giant next to him and is face is rather clean with a gentler appearance than his comrade.

"Pardon me, I must be going-"

"Look at me boy!" The man quickly cuts me off and I slightly look up to meet his gaze. "Dormer here is a killer. The Buckinghams are killers. The king is a killer. Your father is a killer. Your sons will be killers someday following your footsteps. The world is built by killers... so you better get used to looking at them. " He tells me with a gentle and yet stern tone.

Dormer I agree must be a killer, he's obviously aggressive and that sword isn't for decoration I'm sure. The Buckinghams, the family who rules this region are unknowns to me but they did choose to bend the knee to my great grandfather many years ago so I don't know if they have taken lives but I know that my father isn't a killer. He's never murdered anyone!

As much as these men scare me, the only comfort that I have is that they don't know who I am since the other man mentioned the king and then my father so he hasn't made the connection but he's wrong. I will never be a killer; I will never take another person's life. I'm better than that and any sons that I do eventually have in the future, I will teach them to be better men. Violence doesn't solve anything.

"What is a frighten little bird doing wandering on its own? Where are you heading?" Dormer suddenly asks, his gaze onto me like a hawk as if he's trying to pierce through me with his eyes.

My eyes shift from Dormer to his comrade and back to Dormer but I don't know what to say. How to I answer such a question without making myself suspicious to them? If I refuse to answer it might turn bad for me but if I do answer them, are they going to follow me and ruin everything?

"My father told me but I don't remember." I choose to answer, hoping that it will be enough to convince them and I'll be allowed to return to the Grace.

"Do you take me for a fool, boy?" Dormer barks back, his tone louder than before and adds, "I'm going to ask you again, where is a little bird such as yourself going?"

"Emerald Harbor…" I mutter, praying that I won't regret it later.

"Emerald Harbor is no place for a boy like yourself." The other man responds.

Emerald Harbor is the fourth largest city in this kingdom, anyone who wants to build a life for themselves, Emerald Harbor is a place to go for it. Especially since it's known for its commerce and easy accessibility and not to mention that the liege lord assures a smooth commerce for every merchant. Lord Richmond is a fair ruler and he's loved by many, anyone is safe in Emerald Harbor.

"Lord Richmond is the liege lord of Emerald Harbor, house Richmond is one of the King's most loyal bannermen." I voice out and I'm not even sure why I did. I mean just by the looks that both men are giving me; they don't care or even believe much of my words.

"The Richcunt-"

"You seem like a good lad, don't go giving your father trouble. Stay on the boat until your father finishes his business there." The other man calmly cuts off his comrade as he slowly leads me away from the giant and back towards the merchant ships. "A pretty thing like yourself, you wouldn't want to be giving none some ideas. Run along." He calmly adds and I back away slowly and climb back onto the ramp and back into the ship as I look back only to see the man who had guided me back finally walked away once I was on the ship as if he was making sure that I got on board safely which is odd.

I let out a relieving sigh as I make my way towards the cabins when I feel my heart sink as I meet old greyish eyes locked onto me. He doesn't have to say anything, I know what he's thinking and I was wrong. I disobeyed the captain's orders, I left the cabin when he told me not to and I'm lucky that nothing bad happened to me tonight. I was wrong, I should have stayed put.

"I'm sorry." I apologize as I enter the cabin, gently shutting the door behind me but the old man doesn't seem angry towards me, more like he's relieved instead.

"I understand the curiosity of a young heart, your highness." He tells me, giving me a soft smile.

I never met my grandfather, he died before I was born but I always wondered how it was like to have one. All the kids of lords who happen to come visit my father all had grandfathers and stories to tell but I never had anything great to say and yet it didn't matter because I was the son of the king. I could have done whatever I wanted and it was okay because I was the prince but in the end no one ever listened to what I had to say. All would simply agree with me because of who I was, even if I was wrong…

"Where are they going?" I ask as I walk over to the small window, starring at the massive ship that belongs to the Islanders.

The large black sails have been folded in for the night but the ship itself is still massive thing at the docks. It's the biggest ship here but the craftsmanship is the best I've ever seen though. The wooden carvings on the bow of the ship is remarkable and I wonder what would Kougami say if he would see it. The carving of a mermaid holding up a large pearl in her hands, I wonder if he would make a comment on that or if he would ignore it completely.

"The Iron Wall it would seem." The captain answers.

I'm not exactly sure why they're going there; there is nothing at the Iron Wall. It's nothing but a massive fort that separates our borders but I guess it must be part of their job. I mean even though for so many years the Islanders were forced to remain on their islands, they were still the warden of the sea and I'm not exactly sure why.

Seven years ago the Islanders received a new liege lord and apparently they bended the knee to my father and in return my father gave them a pardon for their past crimes but other than that I don't know anything about them. All I know is about their past and how their former liege lord and nobles attempted a coup against my grandfather and they failed.

"Did something happen between the Stone Islands and Emerald Harbor? They didn't seem too fond of lord Richmond." I ask, still thinking about how that giant disrespected lord Richmond by butchering his proud family name. That one sure doesn't hold honor in great value that's for sure.

"The Islanders only care about two things and two things only. Sailing out onto open sea and the Merpeople." The captain tells me, peaking my curiosity. "They basically worship the creatures, even after their capital city of Atlantica got swallowed by the ocean over a hundred years ago, they never stopped worshiping those creatures." He adds.

I didn't say anything about my short experience with a merman to the captain, I didn't think that he would believe me if I did so I kept it to myself but Kougami never mentioned anything about the Islanders to me. He kept saying that we humans were terrible, that yes there are some good ones in the world such as myself apparently but we are overwhelmed by the bad ones.

If the Islanders view the Merpeople with such importance and grace then why didn't Kougami offer to take me there? I mean if a civilization is kind towards them, it would only be logical that Kougami would adore those people and I'm not even sure if he even cares about them at all.

"Emerald Harbor is a great place for merchants such as myself to dock and not having to fear for Merpeople to suddenly come out of the sea for my men." Captain Elingston further tells me and continues, "Lord Richmond makes sure that none of those creatures come close to a mile from the harbor of which that angers the Islanders in return."

"They resemble barbarians." I state.

"That's exactly what they are." The captain agrees.

I don't know why my father granted those men their pardon; the giant that I met sure isn't a man that I want near me. He loves killing and I'm not sure what he would have done to me if the other man hadn't shown up when he did. I know I can't put everyone in the same boat but those Islanders creep me out and I can't wait to sail off and put some distance from them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Kougami**

I searched all day but nothing. I didn't find a single damn thing!

I fucked up, I know I fucked up and because of my mistake I pushed Ginoza away. I forced him to flee, I basically pushed him to run on his own and because of me he's going to get hurt, I know he will. If I can't find him soon, he will definitely get hurt and just imagining him being in pain and agony breaks my heart.

Ginoza doesn't deserve to experience such pain and all I wanted for him was his safety and happiness that he so deserves and in my desire to protect I might have sent him to his death instead. I was such a fool, I just wanted what was best for him. Why couldn't he have just seen that?

I can't let Ginoza die… I don't know why I feel so strongly towards him but I do and I know that it makes absolutely no sense but I must protect him. Ginoza is precious to me.

I'm a fool; I don't know why I acted like a total idiot when I was being helped by those humans. They clearly had no disdain towards me and from what I could tell they actually held high respect for me. I had the perfect chance to speak to that commander about Ginoza but I didn't and now I'm not even sure if I'll ever get another chance before it's too late.

Tsunemori has searched all day like she said that she would but all she could find were the wrong ships and once she was almost speared by a fisherman and that's when she stopped her search, can't say that I blame her either. The last thing I would have wanted was for her to get injured of killed because of me.

It's funny though how I'm back in the same scenario I was in before meeting Ginoza, only difference is the location. Maybe if I gaze at the stars long enough, maybe something will happen and just like last night Ginoza will appear out of nowhere and do something absolutely crazy that could threaten his own life.

I can't help but smile just thinking about him. For a human he's fearless, say whatever you want it took quite some guts to jump off such a high cliff without even knowing if he would have survived once he'd hit the bottom but Ginoza did it anyway. He took a leap of faith and sometimes I wonder if his intentions in that moment were to die or just escape.

If Ginoza is pushed in the right way, if the circumstances fall just right, it might be scary exactly what he can do. When everything is calm Ginoza is shy, unsure about himself and definitely lacks confidence but when something triggers him he can become fearless and he jumps into action immediately just like he did in the cave. He had no knowledge how long he needed to swim in order to get to the other side but that didn't stop him from trying anyway.

A loud ruckus in the distance catches my attention. It would seem like the humans who are at the port are having a good time. It's nice hearing some laughter once in a while and seeing humans actually getting along with each other for a change feels pretty good.

I wonder if Ginoza has ever been to some of these kinds of fanfares before. He did say that he's never left the capital but it doesn't mean that he hasn't mingled with the local people right? I mean even if he is the prince, he was given the right to have fun like any other kid right?

A disturbance in the water suddenly catches my attention followed by a woman's screams that urges me to drop back into the water as I swim towards the disturbance only to find a small child sinking like a rock as it struggles it's little arms and legs to try and go back to the surface but fails to do so and instead continues to sink like a rock.

I gently grab the child and swim upwards back to the surface only to find a young female human in tears as she reaches out for the child and the little boy does the same.

"Thank you!" She quickly thanks me as she pulls the trembling child into her arms. "What is your name?" She asks which is odd coming from a human. For some reason they always assume that we have no name, most assume that we can't even understand their words nor can we talk at all. It's rather funny actually.

"I don't think it will matter much knowing that." I reply back as I stick out the tip of my tail but much to my surprise she doesn't seem to be frightened at all about my revelation. Instead she's staring at me exactly like how many would stare at gold, it's rather odd.

"You're real, I knew it." She says softly to herself but aware that I could hear her. "Is there something that I can do for you in return?" She asks, holding the child closer towards her.

It's the first time a human willingly wants to talk to me even though she knows what I am and the thing is that she's not afraid either. I'd say by how she's looking at me, she's rather fascinated about me and I'm thinking that maybe she secretly dreams of us. It's obvious by how she dresses that she's nothing more than a peasant woman so I guess it explains her kindness and curiosity but still.

I wonder though…

"There's only one thing that I seek for, I'm not certain that you could help me with who I seek." I say catching her interest as she lets go of the child who's still clinging to his mother.

"I can try." She replies back.

It might be for nothing but I've got nothing to lose but to try. It might be for nothing or it might be useful, if I don't ask I'll never know.

"I seek a young man, not older than sixteen but quite tall for his age with quite a slender built." I start describing Ginoza to the best of my abilities and continue, "He's got short black hair with striking green eyes; you couldn't miss him if you had seen him."

"As a matter of fact I did see such an individual wandering on the port today." She quickly answers much to my joy. Now I know that I guessed right and took the right path much to my relief. "The last time I saw this boy was on the dock, he was speaking to the captain of the Grace and then he got on board of the ship." She further tells me which doesn't suit me very well but at least I know that he's safe and wherever he goes, I'll make sure to follow.

I turn towards the port in order to look at the docked ships, much to my dismay there are quite and few and I'm honestly not sure which one is my ship.

"The Grace? Is it still here?" I ask.

"Yes, it's the second one to the right, the second largest next to the Dread." She answers.

The second largest ship, got it and it's not exactly hard to miss and I'm relieved that it's still here so I'm assuming that it won't leave before sunrise which is good. It's much easier to follow a ship during the day than in the night.

I never understood the meaning behind why humans name their wooden vessels or ships as they love to call them it would seem. I guess in a sense the Grace is a fitting name for such a grand ship but the one that has caught my attention for some time though is the largest one. The one with the black sails and I must say that the Dread does give it justice. I would certainly dread seeing it approaching me if I was the enemy, it's without a doubt a ship for the sole purpose of war and deep down I have a feeling that I know to whom it belongs to. It has to belong to the Islanders, only question I have is if the same humans that I saw back in Fueno are the ones sailing it I wonder.

"Do you know where it's going? The capital maybe?" I ask, forcing my mind off the Dread for now.

At the moment all that matters is the Grace, I don't have time to try and figure out if the Dread is captained by the same human I saw earlier. Even though I would love to speak with that human, I just don't have the time to do so.

"I don't know. I do know that it's not going to the capital because that's where it came from." The woman tells me as she continues, "But if you must know, the boy was rather filthy and seemed rather lost. Is everything okay?"

The last time I saw Ginoza, he wasn't filthy. He had light injuries to his wrists but nothing more that that so I guess he must have struggled just to get here and I wonder if he's really okay. I hope the captain he spoke to has been kind to him, that's all I can do right now. Hope is all I have…

"I'd love to tell you but the less you know the better." I tell her. It wouldn't be the first time I would hear about how some innocent human was killed because of something that they knew and I would feel terrible if that would happen to this woman because of something I would have told her. "You and your child could die if you knew too much so for both your safety, you didn't see any boy." I add in a warning.

This woman might be poor but she's no fool either. She knows something is wrong and the fact that she quickly looks away I know she realizes exactly how big this whole thing is. I wonder though if she was able to put one plus one together and figured out exactly who the boy that she saw was.

"Okay…" She mutters as she takes her little boy back into her arms.

"You did not see me either." I tell her and she nods.

"I understand, thank you." She tells me before walking away with the boy sitting on her hip.

It's rather sad having to live in secrecy so much but I know she understood my reasoning and I hope one day I might be able to thank her for her kindness properly. Well if I can somehow manage to keep Ginoza out of harm's way and alive, he might become king one day and maybe by that, it might just help this woman in the near future.

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 7.5**

 **Ginoza**

I barely could sleep at all last night, every time I would close my eyes all I could see was the face of that giant as he kept starring down on me with menacing eyes and then he would try to kill me with his massive sword. I always kept waking up only seconds before he could kill me and then it took forever just to be able to fall asleep again only to start another nightmare about the same thing but in a different way.

The constant nightmares I experienced last night wasn't because of what happened on the dock, I had them back inside of the cave too just with different people. All of those bad dreams I've been experiencing, I know they are all caused by the added stress I've been enduring but I know everything will be better once I arrive at Emerald Harbor and I'm finally under lord Richmond's protection.

I haven't seen lord Richmond for the last two years but I have seen him quite often in the past though. Maybe not as much as lord Umber but still quite a lot. I honestly would have preferred going to lord Umber, I definitely would have felt safer behind the strong walls of Harrenhall but it was impossible for me to travel there on my own. I never would have made it so lord Richmond is my only chance and I hope once I'm there I'll be able to tell him about what has happened and he'll be able to do something about it.

I'm certain once my father learns about where I am and that I'm safe with lord Richmond, I know he'll make his move on the traitors that still lurks within our ranks and once my father calls forth all of his bannermen, our enemies will quickly seek for peace and everything will be over.

I walk over to the small window to look outside. Compared to last night, everything has gone quiet and I notice that the ship is moving and much to my joy it seems like the Dread isn't ready to set sail yet since they still haven't opened up the sails and I wonder if the men on it are even awake. Probably not considering how much they drank last night but I don't care, the faster we can put some distance from them the happier I will be.

A light knock catches my attention as the door opens and the old captain enters.

"Your royal highness." He tells me followed by a light bow before continuing, "The Grace has set sailed, if the wind is on our side we'll arrive at Emerald Harbor by night fall, if not we won't dock before tomorrow afternoon."

By tomorrow afternoon still doesn't sound too bad so I can't complain. It beats walking in the mud and being paranoid over every little sound that suddenly happens all around me. I hope that I never have to travel in such a way ever again. It was just awful and I wonder how my people can do it on a daily basis.

"It's perfectly fine." I acknowledge and he does a slight bow before turning away only to stop after he stepped out of the cabin.

"I believe that it is your first time on a ship, is it not?" He asks.

"It is." I confirm.

I've often seen them quickly dock at the capital to deliver supplies but the city itself isn't a port so I haven't seen all the types of ships there is. Only those similar to the Grace or smaller but after seeing the Dread yesterday, I wonder exactly how many types of ships there are. Compared to the Dread, the Grace doesn't seem like much. Yes it was the second largest ship in port last night but compared to the Dread, it seemed rather tiny.

"It's a calm morning today. The sun is shining and the breeze is rather nice." He tells me and asks, "Shall we?"

A smile forms on my face as I quickly exit the cabin and follow the captain up to the main deck where the sailors are busy working on the masts while some are mopping the deck. Every man on board seems to be doing something specific on the ship.

"Considering we're not at war at the moment, can the Grace be used for warfare?" I ask.

"Yes it can but it's not exactly built for such things. You see the Grace was built for speed in order to deliver goods in the shortest amount of time, it's only a simple Brig." He explains as he gestures for me to follow him up a set of stairs that leads up to the quarter deck where a sailor is navigating the ship.

"What about the Dread?" I ask and add, "It looked so much different than the Grace."

By the size of it I can easily assume that the dread must have at least three levels compared to the Grace who only has two. It definitely has way more cannons and I'd be willing to bet that it also contains more cabins too. The size itself is rather frightening but if it's use for commerce, I can only imagine the amount of goods that it can carry.

"The Dread is what you'd call a Galleon; it's mainly used for war." The captain answers with a bitter tone.

"Sounds like they want bloodshed…" I mutter.

I guess it really shouldn't surprise me since every man that came off that ship were all harmed with a weapon of some sort. They seemed to be ready for combat and now that I know that the Dread is definitely a war ship used mainly to wage war it must be exactly what they are after. They want to fight and that worries me. After all, it wouldn't be the first time they would rebel against the crown, they've done it before so what assures me that they won't attempt to do it again?

"It would seem so but all you must know your highness is that for the last seven years, the new liege lord of the Stone Islands has been extremely devoted to your father and to the crown." Captain Elingston informs me but exactly what does that mean? That I should have gone to them for help instead of heading for Emerald Harbor if the Islanders are so loyal now?

I would have preferred to go home directly but that's out of the question. I know that and I should stop dwelling on it for now but it's hard and now I'm stuck trying to figure out what it is that I should do. Who can I trust and who can't I trust and I'm scared that I'll end up trusting the wrong ones and in the end it will get me killed.

"I'm on the run… Someone is conspiring against my father or maybe many. I just don't know, only that it's obvious that a trap was waiting for me in the king's wood…" I answer as I sit down on a wooden crate. "I don't know who I should trust."

Back in the king's wood, I never took a specific trail. I was advised never to do so because thieves and other sort of criminals loves habits. They use those to formulate a strategy in order to ambush their targets and even though I did exactly what I was told, we were still ambushed as if they were waiting for me.

"The game of politics has always been a difficult one I'm afraid and it's not always easy to make decisions. Sometimes your decision turns out good and sometimes it doesn't always turn out like how you'd hope for but you learn from them and that's how you grow." The captain tells me before sitting down next to me on the crate.

"But what if your decisions are a matter of life and death and if you choose wrong, you die?" I ask, the words slowly rolling of my tongue as if dreading to say them.

I'm afraid of choosing wrong. I don't really care what happens to me. I know that you can't live forever and once your time comes there's really nothing you can do to stop it but the thing is that the decisions that I will make won't just affect me. Thousands will be affected if I choose wrong and who knows how many will die.

No matter how I look at it, I just don't have the luxury to make mistakes. One simple mistake can cost my father so much, just one mistake can cause the fall of my entire country…

I didn't ask to be born; I didn't choose who my parents would be. I didn't choose to be a prince of an entire country. All of that was shoved down my throat the moment I was born, even before I could walk so much expectation was thrown onto me and it's not fair.

"You're an intelligent young man and in this world you do whatever it takes to stay alive. You fight and you claw but you never give up and from what I've seen, you have a determination to live and that's all you need. The rest will come on its own if you give yourself a chance, you're still young and you will make mistakes and many of them as you keep on growing but that's okay." He further tells me as he places a hand on my shoulder and gives me a soft smile but I can't return one.

He makes it sound so easy but it's not. What I wouldn't give to be nothing more than a commoner, I know that they don't have it easy either, no one has it easy but at least they're happy. Even though they don't have much, they're genuinely happy and I've always had everything anyone could ever want and I'm not happy. I'm suffocating and I have an obligation to fulfill that I can't back away from. The moment I was born, I was obligated to my people…

"Do you think that I chose right? I mean to go to lord Richmond?" I nervously ask fearing his answer and that I made a terrible mistake.

"The Richmonds have always been good friends and allies of your family since the old age." He answers and it's one of the main reason why I wanted to go there in the first place. The Richmonds have always been by my family's side right from the very beginning and due to that they are known as one of the five great houses in the land. "I wouldn't be taking you there if I was not absolutely convinced that you'd be safe." He adds as he stands up, inviting me to follow him back down to the main deck.

I get up and follow him down as he starts explaining to me how everything works and I must say that it's all quite fascinating and in order for the ship to properly function and sail smoothly everyone must work as a team. There is no I when it comes to sailing and that's really fun to watch and although it seems easy watching the men work, I'm sure that it's a lot harder than what it seems and for one, I'm sure I would not be a good sailor that's for sure.

The captain leaves me be once he's done giving me a tour of the ship and before I get in anyone's way I go back down below to the cabins as I await my destination.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Ginoza**

The Grace was able to smoothly sail all the way to Emerald Harbor with ease and in good times. The wind was surely on our side and just like Captain Elingston had said, we arrived at the Harbor by nightfall and once the ship docked into port, I thanked the captain for his assistance before getting off his ship and made my way through the busy city all the way to the Gainsborough castle.

I read many books about the grandness of the Gainsborough castle and how the founder of house Richmond was the one who had built the whole structure stone by stone and that the castle itself was built over a complex design of steam ventilations that is then used to heat the whole castle during the winters and in the summer, those very same steam ventilations somehow release cold air instead of heat. To be honest the castle itself is quite impressive. just looking at its exterior is truly something else. I never thought that I'd ever be standing in front of it.

I can't believe it that I'm finally here, it took a day to reach it but here I am. I can't help but have this nervous feeling down in my gut, I'm close and yet so far. The fear that somehow something will happen and I won't make it to see lord Richmond worries me but I know that's impossible and I'm just being silly.

I take a deep breath before stepping closer towards the entrance when two armed soldiers suddenly greet me at the main entrance only to quickly block my path, preventing me from entering the castle.

"Halt!" One shouts as if trying to be intimidating or something. "State your business!" He orders with the same tone but instead of giving an air of authority, he just looks like an idiot dressed in a suit of armor and his partner isn't very impressive either. They think they are but they're not, not even close.

"I must speak with lord Richmond." I quickly state only for one of them to start laughing while the other clearly wants to mock me. Obviously these ones haven't been thought proper manners and sadly such soldiers can only put a bad name for lord Richmond of which is very unfortunate.

"Lord Richmond is a busy man; he doesn't have time to deal with lowly peasants such as yourself." The soldier responds which makes his partner laugh even more.

I've seen many things when it comes to soldiers. I've seen drunken soldiers, lazy soldiers, and weird soldier, even an emotional soldier once but this is the first time I'm faced with two lunatics. Clearly they entered the wrong profession; perhaps it's the reason why lord Richmond decided to put them on guard duty instead of giving them a real job.

"Perhaps you can give me your names and I'll ask my father the king to deal with both of you personally." I voice out at both of them without breaking eye contact.

Their laughters slowly died down as I kept staring at them until they grew quiet and looked at each other for a few minutes before returning their gaze back to me and I believe it was in that moment that they realized that they royally messed up and all they could do was stutter their words like little children who just got reprimanded for something they did wrong.

I must say that it's rather funny to watch the soldier who had been giving me attitude only a few minutes ago is now nothing more than a nervous wreck as I follow him inside of the castle and through the empty halls. It was the first time I ever did something like that, to use my father's name and my title in order to insert my power over a soldier. To be honest the words had just rolled off my tongue as if it was only natural for me to do so and it felt good, actually I'm rather proud of myself.

"My lord, you have a visitor…" The soldier says, allowing me to enter the large room that clearly lacks furniture. I wonder what this room is used for exactly…

I quickly glance towards the soldier and back towards the man he brought me to and he's not exactly who I had in mind. He did bring me to a lord Richmond but he's the wrong one, this is his son Edmund Richmond who's about the same age as my father. Lord Richmond is an elderly man, he would be old enough to be my grandfather actually and because of that he's very wise and I could use his council right now.

"Leave us." He orders and the soldier complies without saying a word and leaves us alone. "I must be honest; I was not expecting a royal visit." He tells me and that's understandable since there was no way for me to do so beforehand and even if I could, I don't think it would have been wise on my part to do so. Birds are easily killed, anyone could have had my message.

"It's been a complicated few days." I respond and ask, "Where is lord Richmond?"

"That would be me your highness. I'm afraid that my father has recently passed, he's been ill for the last two years." He tells me and it feels as if someone just punched me in the chest. What now? I met Randyl Richmond many times when I was younger but I've only met Edmund a few times but not enough to get an idea about the man. "He was a stubborn man; I didn't think death had the patience." He further tells me as I quickly catch a glimpse of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry; the news hadn't reached us yet in the Tearling, my lord." I reply back. I'm not exactly sure what else to say, we really didn't know. My father will surely be devastated once he learns that Randyl Richmond, one of his closest friends is dead.

"Nothing to apologize for your highness but I must admit I am troubled to find you here under my roof on your own." Lord Richmond voices out.

I wasn't able to send words that I was coming so I caught him completely unprepared to accept me and it is rather unusual for someone in my position to come without a large entourage and an escort of fully well trained knights but these are not normal circumstances. The thing is that I kind of like it in a strange way.

"Two days ago, I was attacked in the king's wood; my escort of five knights were slaughtered. I somehow managed to escape my captors after jumping off the high peak into the ocean and I was able to travel to Donau on foot where I was fortunate that an old merchant sailor that I recognized was there to bring me here. I didn't know who else to go to." I quickly recount my last few days, not really wanting to go into details after all, I don't think he would take it too well to know that I had contact with a merman.

Lord Richmond has gone quiet, his eyes fixated onto me for a few minutes before he started pacing around the room all the while brushing his greying beard with his fingers, clearly in deep thoughts.

"That is unacceptable, absolutely despicable!" He voices out after a few minutes of silence, his tone clearly filled with anger and frustration. "Any suspicions as to who could have done this treasonous act?" He asks but I have nothing to say that would contribute in finding these traitors.

"No, that's why I couldn't go to the capital. I don't think I would have been able to reach the gates without being captured again." I tell him but I wish I could have told him more. If only I knew more, I would have been much more helpful.

There are so many different houses in this country, so many small lords here and there that I'm not even sure who could be plotting against my father in order to overthrow him. I'm not even sure if it is one of the many houses in this kingdom who are conspiring against the crown, of all I know it could be a lord from another country who wants to spark a war against the houses of this country. What better way to destroy this country by having every lords fighting each other, there will be nothing left to oppose any neighboring countries if that were to happen.

"No, I'm relieved to see you under my roof safe and unharmed." Lord Richmond says as he comes closer towards me and lays his hands on my shoulders before continuing, "Fear not, you are safe now. No harm will come to you; I swear that justice will be done."

Yes, I want justice for the men that bravely lost their lives trying to protect me, who were betrayed by someone they knew and even more; I want those who are responsible for such heinous acts to be apprehended so no other innocent people will lose their lives to their greed.

I may not know their names, but I remember their faces. I know that they serve someone who is much higher than them and deep down I know it's one of the houses who claims to serve my father but I can't figure out who would dare betray my father.

"Thank you and I'm truly sorry about your father. I saw him many times during his visits at the capital; he was always kind to me. It saddens me to hear of his passing, he was a dear friend of my father's." I say and even though lord Edmund seems to be a kind man, I wish lord Randyl was still alive. I wish he was still here; his vast knowledge would have been most needed. We've been at peace for far too long, I'm not even sure if anyone is ready to fight a war if there ever is one.

"He was loved by many." Lord Edmund assures me and I'm sure that lord Randyl was indeed loved by many. "You have traveled far your highness; I believe a warm bath, proper clothing that fits your rank would be good and a hot supper is most deserved." He adds and all of that would be very nice.

"Thank you, my lord." I thank him just as a young woman with long dark brown wavy hair and olive coloured skin enters the room.

"This is Osha, she will take good care of you." Lord Edmund tells me and Osha gives me a soft smile as she invites me to follow and I do so without question.

I leave lord Richmond to his own, in the much vacant room he seems to be fond of for some reason and follow Osha down the long hall and up a long staircase until we reached the top.

"This will be your chambers during your stay here, your highness." She tells me with a light accent as she opens the door to reveal a large bedroom and enters before continuing, "I'm certain that it doesn't come near to what you have at the Tearling but I hope that it pleases you."

"It's perfect, thank you." I tell her as I enter the room and Osha gently closes the door behind me.

"It is I that thanks you, your highness." Osha adds with a small bow. "I will prepare a hot bath." She tells me before walking away towards the far end of the room where the tub is and starts pouring water in it to fill it up all the while some metal blocks are being heated on top of some hot coals.

I must say that this room doesn't look like the one I have back at the Tearling, it's much smaller but I'm thankful for lord Richmond's hospitality. After sleeping in a wet cave, walking through mud, getting washed in cold water and sleeping on a hard bed on a ship, this is more than I could ask for. It's quiet, cozy and warm, it's just perfect.

I quickly glance towards Osha at the far end, she just took out the metal bars from the tub and I see the water is steaming as she replaces the bars on top of the hot coals to heat them up again and then stands still, only staring at me as if waiting for something only for it to hit me a few seconds after that she's waiting for me…

Ever since I was young, I've always had maids to serve me and not just for simple things but for everything. Ever since I could remember, I've never been able to take a bath by myself but the maids were always the same. They basically saw me grow, they're old enough to be my mother, maybe even older so I kind of got used to them in a way but shedding off my clothes in front of a new face is not something that I look forward to.

Taking a cold bath back in Donau by myself might not have been too pleasant but I didn't have any eyes looking at me. I was by myself and I rather enjoyed it but this isn't my house and it would be rather disrespectful if I told Osha to go away, she just wants to do her job…

"Allow me your highness…" She quickly says just as I'm about to remove my shirt and before I can even say anything she's already by my side, gently lifting my shirt over my head.

I feel my face burning and I'm sure it must be red by now as I feel the blood rush to the tip of my ears and I think Osha understood how I felt since she quickly grabbed a towel and lift it upwards in order to prevent herself from seeing me as I removed the rest of my clothing and once I'm done she carefully wraps it around my waist.

"Careful the water may be hot." She warns me as I enter the tub and she lays the towel on top of the tub to use as a cover much to my relief.

"It's fine." I tell her and I must say I never thought that I would have missed a hot bath as much as I did. I so needed this.

I close my eyes as I soak in the warmth of the water for a few minutes and all I hear is Osha working near me followed by the sound of hot metal sizzling in cold water for a few seconds before everything becomes quiet again and I open my eyes only to see her replace the metal block back onto the hot coal.

"Osha, where are you from?" I ask catching her attention. "You're not from here." I add.

"You can tell your highness?" She asks in return as she puts a small empty tub behind me.

"You have an accent that I've never heard before." I tell her and not to mention, that I've never seen anyone with the same coloured of skin as she does and I've seen a lot of people come and go from the palace so I would know.

"I was a slave and lord Richmond bought me." She tells me and that's rather surprising since house Richmond is one of the five noble houses in this kingdom. Of all people, lord Richmond should know the laws that prohibit slavery. Buying and selling slaves is a grave crime, it's forbidden.

"Slavery is a grave crime in this country." I states as I stare at her but she doesn't seem bothered by it at all.

"I am not a slave anymore your highness. I work for lord Richmond because I wish to, he bought me my freedom." She explains as she carefully pours warm water over my head followed by the sound of water dripping down the empty tub behind me.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you become a slave?" I ask and I'm not sure why. I mean it's not my business and it's rather disrespectful on my part and yet I'm still curious to know.

"My mother sold me to the pleasure house when I was eight." Osha answers and I'm lost for words. How could a mother be able to sell their child like that?

"I'm sorry, it must have been difficult." Was all I could say. "Lord Richmond is a kind man for taking you away from such a life." I add.

"Yes he is and so are you." Osha tells me and I can't help but look upwards to meet her gaze as she washes my hair.

"Kindness won't help me in my situation unfortunately…" I state.

"Wrong, kindness is the uttermost importance a ruler may possess. You cannot rule without being able to show mercy when it is needed." Osha states and she isn't wrong in a way. A good ruler knows when to show mercy and when to take action but deciding when one or the other is needed isn't easy.

After what happened in the king's wood, I know that whoever betrayed me should be put to the sword. What they did was treason but I'm not sure if I could do it.

"It's a lot, so much to think about." I mutter.

"Yes and that is why you should rest. There are times to think and then there are times to relax and unwind, allow all of your worries to be cast aside for now and relax." Osha tells me as she finishes rinsing my hair from the soap and adds, "You're under the protection of lord Richmond now, everything will be fine."

She's right, I'm under lord Richmond's protection, one of my father's most loyal bannermen and soon, whoever is trying to rebel against my father will be caught in a corner with nowhere else to go. They'll be trapped like a rat but until then, I need to be careful-.

I feel something warm brush against my nape as I feel Osha wrap her arms around my chest. Her hands feeling up my chest, slowly going down to my abdomen before I grabbed both her hands, pulling them away.

"What are you doing?" I ask as I look behind me to meet her gaze.

"Ever been with a woman, your highness?" She asks instead, not answering my question as she gets up and walks to the other side of the tub.

"No." I answer back, not really getting why she would even ask me such a thing. Of course I've never been with a woman before, my father would never allow it and quite frankly I don't care.

"We're very complicated you know. Pleasing us takes practice." She tells me, slightly leaning against the edge of the tub.

My father has never spoken to me about such things. Actually he's never told me if I'm promised to a noble lady or not but I always assumed that I probably am which would be the reason why my father never brought up the subject. I know a few sons of lords who have already gone to brothels and other pleasure houses and had their share, but I never did and I never tried to.

"After I was sold to the pleasure house, I was trained for three years on how to pleasure a man." Osha tells me, not removing her gaze off me.

"And that's supposed to help me about pleasuring a woman?" I ask, not really sure why I asked that. The words just slipped through without thinking.

"I'm a woman and I know exactly how to please a man." She answers as she straightens herself up before removing the belt around her waist. Allowing it to fall onto the floor and then pulls onto a thin cord around her neck, allowing her dress to drop down to her feet.

She doesn't seem to be bothered about standing naked before me, actually if I didn't know any better I'd say that she's perfectly fine with it and even though it's indecent, I can't look away as she pulls the towel that she had laid on top of the tub away and gets into the tub herself.

"I'm going to take very good care of you, your highness."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Ginoza**

"How do you like it here?" Lord Richmond asks as he joins me on the balcony. "You seem much more relaxed."

I give him a soft smile before returning my gaze back onto the ocean. To think that only a day ago I was afraid of being caught, that I was filthy and somewhat lost. A day ago I didn't know what would become of me and now I no longer have to worry anymore. I got myself here, I did that and I'm proud of what I accomplished even though it might not be much.

"I am and I love it here." I answer. "The water is so clear, I can see right at the bottom but why do they call it Emerald Harbor?" I ask.

Even though the sun is gone and the moon is shining brightly tonight, I can still see everything. It's like there's something illuminating the water at the bottom of the ocean and it's so beautiful. I've never seen such a thing and I don't recall ever reading about it either. It's truly fascinating.

"They call it Emerald Harbor due to its waters. All year round it doesn't matter; the water is always green and clear." He calmly explains as he sits down next to me, his back facing the ocean.

If my father was here right now he'd be the first to tell me to get down from there. He'd be constantly worried that I would somehow lose my balance and I would fall but even if I did, I seriously doubt it that I would get injured. After all, it's much less higher than from the jump I did from the high peak and I survived.

"I hear you don't allow Merpeople near the Harbor." I voice out as I catch a glimpse of his eye.

"No I don't and for very good reasons." He admits without any hesitations in his tone. "Don't think poorly of me your highness. I'm simply preventing needless bloodshed." He adds and I guess that makes sense. I mean if Merpeople would wander around the harbor, I guess it would be a bunch of problems that would constantly pile up and eventually lord Richmond would lose control.

"I met a merman; he saved my life after I jumped off the high peak. He wasn't a savage like the stories I've been told, he understood me and also spoke in our tongue and not once did he ever try to hurt me." I recount but lord Richmond doesn't seem surprises in the slightest by what I just told him. He doesn't have the same disdain look in his eyes like captain Elingston had when he spoke about the Merpeople. Lord Richmond's eyes on the other hand remained gentle and he quietly listened to what I had to say without even trying to interrupt me.

"Because they are not savages. They live for a very long time, they are beings that we humans have a hard time to understand and in turn we kill them." Lord Richmond explains and that's true. More than half of the time when humans destroy something or kills someone, it's often because there's a lack of understanding but the truth is that it's much easier to destroy than to understand.

I was afraid of Kougami at first because of what I had been told about his people and the things that they supposedly did but now that I think about it, I don't think he would have done anything to hurt me. After everything he did for me, I never did try to understand him while he did everything in order to try to understand me and the thing I regret the most is that I never thanked him for saving my life. He didn't have to but he did and instead of trusting him, I abandoned him and fled.

"The waters around the harbor are so clear that you would see them and in turn fishermen would try to hunt them and shed blood. I keep the Merpeople away because of that, not because I hate them." He further explains, giving me a gentle smile.

Captain Elingston believes that lord Richmond hates Merpeople because he chases them away and the Islanders also believe the same thing and because of that the Islanders hate this place which is sad because they don't know that they both share the same interest. The Islanders adore Merpeople and lord Richmond wants to protect them, they both want the same thing in the end and yet they hate each other due to a misunderstanding.

"I'm deeply touched to know that the king's son has great faith in my house to the point that you would come to me for protection. I am truly honored but I'm saddened to say that I must send you away." Lord Richmond voices out as I feel my body stiffen and his words keep rolling through my mind over and over again as if hoping that I had heard him wrong but I know I heard correctly.

"Why?" I ask as I meet his gaze and lift my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs as I lean against the stone pillar behind me.

"My father is dead and I'm not the only potential liege lord for Emerald Harbor. Although I am his son and the rightful heir, my position is not fully secure at the moment. I'm afraid that you have come in difficult times your highness." He explains.

I should have known, I should have known that this was too good to last. Everything was going too well for me but I should have known. It's not uncommon for a struggle of power to arise after a liege lord dies, it happens a bit too often. I was a fol to think that such a thing couldn't happen within house Richmond.

"I don't know where else to go." I mutter as I bury my chin into my knees.

"Rest easy, I will not abandon you but considering what is happening around here, it would not be safe for you to stay here. I've arranged the preparations for a ship to leave tomorrow morning and I have chosen fifteen of my best men that I trust the most and I'll send you somewhere that I know you will be safe." Lord Richmond further explains which is a little comforting but still, I thought I was finally done running for now but I was wrong.

"Can I know where?" I ask.

"Lord Umber will be able to provide a better protection than I can. Even if lord Umber were to die somehow of which I highly doubt it, his sons are good men and family is everything to them unlike here." Lord Richmond tells me and I let out a sigh of relief.

Originally, going to Harrenhall was the place that I wanted to go but I couldn't reach it, well I could have tried but I seriously doubt it that I would have been able to make it there successfully.

"Harrenhall is the largest fortress this country has, it also boasts one of the largest armies, you will surely be safe there." Lord Richmond further tells me and that again is very true and the Umbers also happen to be quite large men in size.

Harrenhall, the largest fortress that boasts over sixty thousand soldiers alone, with walls so high that no matter what army you send there is no way you'll ever be able to breach them. The fortress itself is the main thing that stands in the way of anyone who would dare try to attack the capital and most would prefer to commit suicide then to lay siege to the famous fortress that has never been breached ever since it was built.

"I will inform my father about your situation when I can, I know he will do something to secure your position." I assure lord Richmond and once my father hears of this, about how some wish to usurp lord Edmund from his rightful place as liege lord of Emerald Harbor, I know he'll end this so call rebellion in a heartbeat.

"I don't want to frighten you but there's a war coming, I don't know who it will be that you'll be fighting but it's coming and I want you to be ready for it." Lord Richmond suddenly voices out, his voice low and serious but I don't get why it will be me who'll be fighting. I'm not the king or is there something that I'm missing?

Honestly though, I was afraid that something like this would come up eventually. After I got attacked and abducted by unknown men, I knew something is brewing. I knew that something is indeed coming but I kept telling myself that it's nothing but I knew otherwise. Someone is pulling the strings and unfortunately many are going to get hurt.

"I'm not ready…" I mutter.

"I know that you're not and that's why I'm not hiding the truth either. You must be ready and lord Umber will help you. There are not many that you can trust but you can trust the Umbers." He further tells me as he tries to reassure me but it's not doing much good.

"Only the Umbers?" I ask.

"Men follow strength beyond everything else. You don't have to be a strong soldier, that is not true strength. Real strength is being able to inspire loyalty; you must be courageous and strong headed." He answers so in other words I need to be a leader but I'm not. I've never barked an order in my life, I mean I never had to… I'm not the king…

"But if I don't know who I can trust, how can I inspire loyalty?" I further ask.

"What does your instinct tell you? Your gut feeling?" He asks without answering my question.

"I don't know…" I answer back.

"You're not very good at hiding what is on your mind and that can be a weakness, you should work on that." He tells me, just like Maester Aemon has been telling over and over for years and yet I can't change that. No matter how hard I try, I can't hide what I'm thinking from others.

"They scare me but I feel like they might rise up to fight for me if I call them to." I say numbly.

"Who?" Lord Richmond asks.

"The Islanders." I answer. "I know it's silly, they're a bunch of barbarians who enjoy killing-"

"It doesn't matter what they enjoy, what matters is do you trust them?" He calmly cuts me off.

"Strangely enough, yes and I don't know why." I answer.

"You can't always explain your gut feelings but always listen to them because they're never wrong." Lord Richmond tells me but that's easier said than done because my gut feelings doesn't really sound very smart sometimes.

"How do I get them to support me?" I ask as I think back at that giant I had met on the dock. He seemed so aggressive, I'm not even sure if he'd even listen to me if I spoke. I just can't tell what that man was thinking and I know it's strange but I feel like I could trust him with my life. It makes no sense, he scares me but I feel like I could trust him with anything…

"You make them. You find a way that is true to your beliefs and I know you will find a way." Lord Richmond tells me and I wish I could see what he sees in me, I don't feel like I'll ever be able to find a way to do anything… "Sleep well; you'll be leaving at sunrise. Earlier if I can allow it so you should get some rest now while you still can, it will be a long journey to Harrenhall." He further tells me as he gets up and leaves me alone on the balcony and I retreat back inside after a few minutes. I wish so much for everything to remain this peaceful forever…

 **XXX**

* * *

 **XXX**

"Your highness, wake up!" I hear Osha's voice suddenly pull me out of my long awaited sleep.

"What's happening?" I groggily ask, still pretty much half asleep as I look around the room. It's still dark but even so, it's noisy. There's definitely a disturbance going on outside, I don't know what it is but it doesn't sound too pleasant.

"There's no time to explain." She tells me as she tosses the covers away and pulls me up to my feet. Quickly helping me get dressed as the commotion outside seems to be getting closer and wilder by the minute.

"Where's lord Richmond?" I nervously ask.

"Fighting to suppress the rebels." She tells me as she finishes buttoning my vest, her hands clearly shaking. "You must go! Now!" She urges me as she grabs me by the writs and quickly leads me to the door; opening it carefully as she peaks her head out.

Lord Richmond said that I had come to Emerald Harbor in difficult times but I never thought that it would end up like this so quickly. I can't believe that there's an actual rebellion taking place, I just hope that it will fail and lord Richmond will be able to restore order quckly.

"Go down the stairs and down the hall. Speak to no one, look at no one and stop for no one until you reach the docks, there's a ship waiting for you." Osha instructs me. "Lord Richmond's men who are still loyal to him won't hurt you but the rebels will." She adds.

"Come with me Osha." I urge her as I try to ignore the madness that's happening nearby.

"There's someone I must say goodbye to first." She states and that person I can only assume must be lord Richmond himself but if he's fighting there's no way that she'll be able to reach him. She can't possibly be thinking of doing what I think that she'll do.

"Osha during rebellions, women get raped." I tell her and her expression quickly grows serious.

"No one is raping me." She tells me as she quickly lifts her skirt up to her knee revealing a dagger attached to her leg. "Now go!" She barks.

I quickly make my way down the stone steps as I feel my heart pounding hard in my chest as I hear the clinging of metal against metal and the sound of screaming men in the distance as I nervously make my way through the dark hall.

What was of the grand Gainsborough castle is now consumed by dead soldiers lying motionlessly on the floor, the scent of blood in the air is all I can smell with a mix of smoke as the grounds outside of the castle has been set on fire and I just can't understand why anyone would do such a thing. Lord Richmond is the rightful lord; he's a kind man so I don't understand why all of this is happening.

I do exactly as Osha instructed as I navigate my way through the raging chaos, not looking at anyone or attempting to speak to those near me and somehow I made it to the dock but what I saw there wasn't what I was expecting. The ships that docked into the port earlier have all been set on fire and they've long since been consumed by the raging flames, illuminating the port and the docks decorated in bodies.

What do I do now?

The soldiers who had been specifically chosen to take me to Harrenhall have been butchered, they must have been the first ones to perish in this rebellion but it's only after I recognized one of the burning ships that I realize that it wasn't only just the soldiers who got put under the sword. Even the simple merchants received the same fate and only a few feet away from where I stood, my eyes fall onto an old man lying near the burning Grace.

I quickly run to Captain Elingston's body only to find him barely alive with a terrible stab wound in the abdomen, blood gushing out as it keeps spilling all over. His gazed slowly falls on me with his old grey eyes when I touched him and a weak smile forms on his lips before his eyes closes and his body goes limp and I feel my eyes start to burn and I can't hold in the tears from rolling down my cheeks. He was good man, he was innocent-.

A loud commotion followed by drunken voices catches my attention as I quickly jump up to my feet rather nervously just as three drunken men enter my vision and I quickly turn away only to find two more standing behind me a little further away and without thinking I bolt into a run only to be caught off by one of them and before I knew it, they had me completely surrounded on all sides.

I suddenly feel one of them grab my arm from behind and I'm roughly yank backwards and without thinking I turned around and slapped the man in the face only to receive one in return which causes me to lose my balance and I fall face first onto the ground and the man quickly follows, pressing his stinking body against my back, putting all of his weight onto me.

"Ever been fucked pretty boy!?" He asks, his lips so near to my ear that I could feel his breath as he spoke.

I feel his weight disappear only to violently get dragged on the ground a bit before being roughly turned on my back as two men hold on to my wrists in order to keep me still while the one who stroke me in the face kneels over me as he starts untying his pants and the two others simply watches as I struggle to free myself but I can't and the more I struggle the more it seems to amuse them.

I feel my eyes burning again as I feel tears escape and all I can hear are the drunken laughters of the men holding me down as the other pulls down his pants to his knees revealing his disgusting erection. He quickly turns his attention on my pants and starts untying the cords when I hear a strangled muffled sound and then one of the men who was watching falls onto the ground headless, his severed head rolling down onto the ground towards me just as the man who had been kneeling on top of me gets lifted into the air by the scruff of his neck by the very giant that had scared me the night before in Donau.

The sound of a blade penetrating flesh and a strangled whimper followed by the man's insides and blood comes spilling out onto the ground before the giant Dormer lets the mangled body of the man drop onto the floor and then turns his blade onto the men who had been holding me down.

"No! Please!" One quickly pleads before getting his throat slashed, his blood spilling out like a small stream.

I know I should get on my feet, I should run and flee for my life but I can't move. I'm frozen in place while my gaze is glued onto the giant Islander who keeps on killing one man right after the other until none is left alive but the two of us.

He claimed that night in Donau that it brought him joy taking someone's life and that he loved killing, that killing was the sweetest thing there was. Even though I knew he was telling the truth, I didn't want to believe him but I saw it tonight, he didn't hesitate to kill those men nor does he regret it but I don't know why he chose to come here.

"You're alright now, little bird…" He tells me before lifting me up over his shoulder and starts walking away as if it was nothing.

I can still hear the sounds of screams in the distance followed by a ship's mass crumbling down onto the water but none of this seems to be bothering the giant as he keeps on walking towards the end of the dock and suddenly lowers me down into a small rowing boat before getting in himself and starts rowing away towards the ocean like he's done something like this a million time.

In the distance I see a large ship with large black sails, knowing full well that it has to be the Dread but it's just floating there. Waiting silently like those on board are completely oblivious to the chaos that's currently happening.

I look back towards the Harbor that had been so peaceful only a few hours ago is now completely up in flames. The screams ever present keeps on getting fainter as Dormer keeps on rowing further away from the Harbor and closer towards the Dread and I can't help but wonder if Osha is still alive and if lord Richmond is being able to suppress the rebels. I know that there isn't anything I can do but I feel completely useless. I wasn't able to help anyone, I wasn't even able to help myself and I probably would have been killed by those men if it hadn't been for Dormer. He saved me and I don't know why but how can I expect my father's bannermen to fight for me if I can't do anything to help them when they need it…?

Dormer doesn't say anything as he keeps on rowing towards the large ship. He seems rather focused on the task at hand at the moment and I don't dare say anything in order not to disturb him as I feel my cheek only to realize that I'm bleeding from where I was stroke by that man earlier and the edge of my brow is also slightly bleeding.

The large man stops rowing once we're only a few inches away from the massive ship and he carefully stands up in the center of the row boat and knocks onto the ship. A few minutes passes until a few ropes drop down from the ship and Dormer quickly secures the ropes onto the hooks of the row boat before giving them a sharp tug and the row bow starts ascending slowly. Dormer never sits back down as we keep on going up and grabs me the moment we reach the top and the men on the deck grab onto the boat and pulls it onto the deck. Without a single word, Dormer lifts me up like I'm nothing at all and hands me over to the same man who had guided me back to the Grace that night in Donau.

"Little bird is bleeding, someone take him to his cage. See to that cut." Dormer instructs his comrade as he steps out of the row boat and I quickly try to push the man away from me only for him to hold on to me tighter in his arms to prevent me from fleeing.

I don't want to be locked up inside of a cage! I don't!

"Dormer this one's a wild one!" Another voices out with much amusement as he comes closer towards me and this one is just like all the others. Dressed in a similar fashion as the others on this ship but he's not a giant like Dormer or the one who's holding me but I don't like the look in his eyes. They resemble the eyes of the man who got his insides spilled out onto the ground by Dormer. "He doesn't seem like your type Dormer." He adds

The man grabs my chin and lifts my head as if he wants to further inspect my face, quickly liking his lower lip as he looks at me from head to toe before turning his gaze towards the other men on the ship. I quickly jerk my head and sink my teeth into his hand forcing him to let go of my face and yank his hand away leaving me with a metallic taste in my mouth.

"Damn brat! He fucking bite me!" He barks as he stares at his hand and I don't know why I did that, my body just moved on it's own and I know that I shouldn't have and by the look in his eyes I know I'm going to pay for it dearly for what I just did and the taste of blood in my mouth is making me nauseous. "I'm going to beat the living shit out of you, you fucking brat-"

"You will do no such thing." Another voice states.

The guy that's holding me quickly drags me backwards further away from the man who had only been inches away from striking me in the face just now for almost biting off his index finger. Dormer casually takes a stand in front of me as if he's now on guard duty or something.

"My lord, he bit a chunk right off." The man says as he holds out his hand in the air for his commander to see.

I hear slow and steady footsteps coming closer and a young man comes out from the shadows with a thick black cloak over his shoulders and the men quickly scatter away from the man of whom I bite but even though he seems young, this man isn't someone to be messed with. Is that really the Stone Commander? The New liege lord of the Islanders?

"Yes he did. You also happen to look like a mad dog and the boy is filled with fright." The commander calmly says without placing much care in his tone as he spoke to his soldier. "Besides, you'll be losing much more than a chunk of skin if you strike your prince." He adds with the same indifferent tone but considering how the man's finger is dangling so loosely, I wouldn't really call that losing a chunk of skin. That man has every right to be angry towards me, I bite his finger almost right off his hand and the blood that's dripping down my chin further confirms it.

"That brat is the prince!?" The man asks, giving me a menacing glare and disgust.

The man who had been holding me tightly in his arms suddenly loosens his grip of me and lays his hands on my shoulders but I don't dare to move and all I can do is gaze around nervously, not knowing what is going to happen. The tension on this ship is suffocating.

"Strike your prince and you'll lose the hand, kill your prince and you'll have your head mounted on a spike to rot in the sun all day." The commander tells the man and I feel the tension grow in the air as every Islanders are quietly watching. "We got what we came here for, we go home." The commander adds.

"Fuck the king!" The soldier barks back at his commander and then looks towards me as he spits on the ground, "And fuck the prince!"

"Fuck the king?" The commander asks as he takes a step forward to his soldier but from his tone, he's not asking a question and he's not expecting an answer either. "I serve the king and the prince will be my king someday, so are you telling your liege lord to go fuck himself?" The commander asks, his voice calm but with a malicious hint present in his tone.

"That's not-"

"I'm your liege lord and what I say goes and I won't have any misconduct on my ship." The commander quickly cuts the man off who has grown somewhat nervous. "Dormer, if you'd be so kind as to present Murray to the irons, he seems to have forgotten his place around here." He casually orders as the man called Murray's eyes suddenly widens.

"My pleasure." Dormer answers grabbing Murray by the collar of his shirt, dragging the man by the scuff of his neck towards a large stone plate with burning hot coals scattered on it and laying on top of the hot coals are long metal blocks.

"My lord!" Murray yells but the commander doesn't bare any attention to him as he silently watches Dormer do what he just ordered without blinking.

"Make sure it covers half of his face, it will definitely terrify the enemies." He further orders Dormer.

"My lord! I beg you!" Murray begs and Dormer roughly kicks his comrade behind his legs causing him to fall on his knees as he struggles to prevent Dormer from sticking his face onto the hot metal blocks.

The commander can't surely be serious, if Dormer sticks that man's face onto those he'll be disfigured for the rest of his life.

No one is daring to say anything but no one is daring to help Dormer punish one of their comrades either. Everyone has grown silent as the grave and all you can hear is Murray still pleading with his lord for mercy but the commander keeps on ignoring him. I'm not even sure he even cares but this is wrong.

"Stop! Stop it!" I shout as I step forward only for the man behind me to hold me back, preventing me from reaching Dormer.

"Hold!" The commander shouts and Dormer stops but keeps on holding Murray's face only inches away from the metal bars. "There is something you wish to say your grace?" The commander asks as he looks at me, his expression and tone somewhat gentle now as he spoke to me as if there's nothing happening.

I don't get this man. I don't get a single one of these Islanders. Murray is one of them, he's their comrade and yet they are perfectly fine to watch him get his face burned like it's nothing. As if it's something normal.

"Stop this madness." I order but I'm not exactly sure if it can be called an order but more than enough blood has been spilled for one night. I don't need anyone else to get injured because of me.

"This man has just threatened his grace; you wish to show him mercy?" The commander asks in the same gentle tone and I feel all eyes are on me, waiting for my response rather eagerly and whatever I say will determined Murray's fate.

"I do. Show him mercy, my lord." I answer and I see a sense of relief form in Murray's expression.

"Very well then, let him go." The commander orders, his tone no longer gentle and Dormer releases his grip of the man as he walks back over to me and the man holding me lets me go. "Dormer take the prince to my cabin, I'll be there shortly. I need to settle something first." The commander orders in a cold tone and my head jolts towards his direction.

"You said you'd show mercy-!"

"Come on little bird, you don't need to see this." Dormer cuts me off as he grabs me with one arm, lifting me off my feet as he walks away towards the cabin that's under the quarter deck, ignoring as I struggle to make him let go of me but he doesn't lose his grip at all as if I'm not even doing anything to hinder him and enters the cabin with much ease.

He drops me onto a bed and walks away towards the entrance, closing the large french doors and proceeds to stand in front of them as if trying to invite me to try and get pass him if I can but I know it would be completely useless for me to even try. There's no way I can overpower this man.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Sugo**

Dormer's way of taking people away will always be iconic to me no matter how many times I see him do it. He always takes the easy road and goes with the, "I'm going to carry you like a sack of potatoes under my arm or over my shoulder whether you like it or not." It doesn't really matter who it is, they all share the same fate. Whether they are high or low borns, it really doesn't matter to Dormer. It never matters what it is, he always opts for the easy method and thanks to his size there's never much that the unfortunate soul can do about it much to their dismay.

Anyway, I must say that the prince is much greener than I had initially expected. I knew he grew up in a sheltered environment but I was expecting a bit more from him. However, he may be green but at least he definitely has some spunk so there's still some hope there. Unfortunately, he's got a long way to go I'm afraid but I must say, I'm rather impressed at the strength of his jaw. He almost bite Murray's finger right off.

"I didn't come here for a fucking brat! I came here to fight!" Murray spat as he applies some pressure to his almost severed finger.

"That brat just saved your face and maybe even your life." I reply back and add, "And since I follow the orders of the king and also those of the prince, if he orders me to kill you I will do it without a second thought so know your place."

"I agree with the old lords, we should be able to rule ourselves-"

"Your old lords are dead!" I quickly cut Murray off as I give him a sharp glare for even daring to say such a thing. "Seven years ago, no one gave a damn about the Islanders. They could rot for all everyone cared but I saw potential and the king agreed, and provided a royal pardon for you all." I say as I gaze around to catch the eyes of my men.

Fifty years ago, the liege lord and the noble Islander lords wanted to rule themselves. They wanted their lands to be an independent country and separate from Ilindor completely. They knew very well that what they were doing was treason, they knew but they still attempted it anyway as they ignored the well-beings of their people. They started a rebellion against the crown that was completely pointless since they were severely out numbered all because the former liege lord wanted to become king himself by any means necessary. He became greedy and in the end his greed cost him his life and all of those in his house.

"We're not garbage!" Murray barks back.

"No you're not and the king doesn't think so either." I state.

I know very well how the Islanders feel about the crown and I understand their ill will towards the king but they need to understand now that the king who ordered the execution of all the Islander nobles is not the current king. The king that they serve now is not the one who made the decree to have every Islanders prisoner on their home islands. It wasn't the current king that forbade the usage of ships which forced many family members to be separated for fifty years.

All that was taken away from them was done by the former king and I would be lying if I'd say that I agree with that man's decisions. I understand that he needed to take action and show his power but there were other ways of handling things. Was the killing of all the nobles a reasonable course of action? That, sort of since it was them who pulled the strings but forbidding the Islanders, the innocent people who had nothing to do with the decisions of their lords, well that was taking things a bit too far.

I wouldn't be serving the king if I didn't have respect for the man. He's nothing like his father, the current king is a good man and the Islanders must learn to see it. I wouldn't ask them to serve someone that I did not respect but I can't ignore a large factor that keeps eating at my men.

Ever since the former lords of the Stone Islands failed in their rebellion, a stigma has followed the Islanders for the last fifty years. Even now, after seven years of loyal services to the crown that stigma keeps on following them. To the people around Ilindor, the Islanders are oath breakers, untrustworthy and savages. Due to that, I can understand why my men are frustrated and angry. I really do but it will take more than seven years to fix the past mistakes that were made due to foolish greedy men who had once been their lords.

"Everything that was taken has been restored to the Islanders, you were all given more than what you had before and that's how you repay the crown? By the desire to rebel against the very person who gave you all a second chance?" I ask, quickly catching a glimpse of my men's eyes.

After I became a commander in the royal navy, I left the capital and went to the Stone Islands with only one purpose and that was to gain their loyalty and respect and I did exactly that. Once I had accomplished that, I returned to the capital where I was able to get an audience with the king in person. It was at that audience that I gave him the offer of being able to bring the Islanders back into the fold under one condition, that they be free men and women again. The king didn't hesitate to grant me what I had asked for but he didn't just grant them their freedom but he took care of them with various provisions that the Islands could not provide itself and after seven years the Stone Islands have highly flourished as if nothing had ever happened.

"No… My apologies my lord." Murray answers.

"But the next time you disobey my orders and threaten the prince or the king again, I'll have you thrown overboard to the sharks. Do I make myself clear?" I tell him and he gives me a light nod and I step closer towards him for only him to hear, "You'll get your chance to fight, just not today."

Murray nods again before going below deck and the men quickly return to their post.

"Kane, turn this ship around for Octavia." I order.

"Will do my lord." He replies back and climbs up the staircase to the quarter deck and I retreat into my cabins only to find Dormer standing guard in front of the doors and the prince silently sitting on a bed with his face still stained in blood. I don't think he even attempted to clean himself either.

"Leave us." I order and Dormer steps out without saying a single word and closes the door behind him but I can tell, he's standing guard outside of the door. As expected, he won't allow a single person to come near the prince unless I command him to.

"You promised to be merciful." The prince quickly voices out as he stands up to meet my gaze the moment the door closes and now I understand. He's fearful of Dormer, he doesn't dare to act in his presence so if he stays quiet and still in Dormer's presence and he behaves the complete opposite with me, it only means that he fears Dormer more than he fears me.

Smart.

He might be green but he's not without a strong fierceness and for his sake he'll surely need it if he is to survive what is coming but he is so naive and seriously it's time he learns how the world really turns. I simply hope that the harsh reality won't break him but I have faith that his spirit is strong. He'll pull through because he has to.

"I did, he's alive and well. This is however my ship and those are my men and I'm their liege lord. I will not have any misconduct on my ship, it is my duty your grace to keep my men in order as I see fit." I reply back but from the look he's giving me he doesn't seem very convinced.

Actually the whole ordeal was simply a test on my part. I wanted to see the prince's real nature, I wanted to see how he would react in a stressful situation. None of my men were aware of my plan, Murray simply ended up being the pawn of it all due to his infamous temper but things couldn't have gone any better if I had tried to plan it all from scratch.

My intentions were not to burn Murray's face but it needed to be real and I needed someone who'd be more than willing to do the deed in case the prince didn't object to my orders and Dormer delivered a perfect performance. I needed the situation to feel real on both sides but more importantly I wanted the Islanders to see their future ruler.

The prince didn't have to give mercy to Murray, what he did was treason. No matter the circumstances, you never threaten your prince or your king and he threatened both but the prince showed mercy and even though it doesn't seem like much it's a huge thing in the eyes of the Islanders. Tonight, the prince has gained their respect and now I can think of other more pressing matters that needs my attention.

"Why is this ship turning? Where are we going?" The prince asks as the ship tilts at quite an angular position for a few minutes before it straightens itself again.

"The Stone Islands." I answer

"No, I have to go to Harrenhall!" He quickly protests.

Harrenhall, the legendary mighty fortress held by the Umbers for over a thousand of years. Yes that is quite a grand idea and I wonder if it's something that the prince came up by himself or if it was fed to him by lord Richmond but either way I can understand the reason behind wanting to go to Harrenhall though.

"What about lord Richmond? What happened to him!?" He further asks and I can't help but let out a sigh.

"At Emerald Harbor dealing with his affairs I assume." I answer back.

"There's an active rebellion, we have to help him!" He tells me.

"We? You've never fought a battle, that's quite apparent." I reply back and add, "I have sixty men, and such a number is never enough to ease a rebellion, your grace."

"Then you're completely fine leaving him for dead!?" He asks and that's exactly how it is.

Lord Richmond was a fool. A good man but none the less a fool. He allowed his subordinates to walk all over him for far too long and in this world, kindness is a good thing but when you're a lord you can't rule a mass of people with kindness alone. You need order and authority otherwise if not, you'll be finding yourself with a long horizontal gash on your throat.

The thing is that it's not the common people that the liege lords have to keep an eye on. It's the smaller lords that pose the greatest threat. Some are loyal to their liege lord but others, they claim loyalty in your face but in reality they are just waiting for an opening in order to make their move and rise to power in return. It's similar to what's happening right now in this country actually, many noble houses are showing their true colours, one by one they will show their treachery towards the crown and the fall of the Richmonds are just the beginning.

"I can't do anything for lord Richmond." I admit and that is the honest truth.

The Islanders would indeed go into battle if I ordered them to do so but where would be the point of sending men out to fight when you know they can't win? I don't intend to send my men off to die for nothing. The affairs of the Richmonds are their business and not mine, we Islanders have no business butting our nose into their affairs just as much as we wouldn't want anyone to butt their nose into ours. As a fellow liege lord, all I can do is pray that everything turns out for the best.

"He was going to take me to Harrenhall, can you at least take me there?" The prince asks and there it is again. Harrenhall. I could swear that the word has been branded onto his tongue.

"Your grace, we are Islanders which means our strength lies with our ships." I tell him as I sit down but never removing my eyes off him as I continue, "We are not land soldiers so no, I cannot take you to Harrenhall but you are my prince and my future king and therefor I will protect you and that's why I'm taking you to the Stone Islands."

I might be able to succeed in bringing the prince to Harrenhall with the men that I currently have if I try. I know that if any battle would ensure, Dormer and Kane would indeed be able to crush their enemies without problem but it would be a dangerous gamble to take. It's a gamble that I'm simply not willing to take when it involves the prince directly.

When it comes to soldiers, the Umbers and the Islanders are at complete opposite ends of the scale, two different sides of the same coin. Both forces have strong armies and loyal soldiers but one stands best on land while the other stands best on the sea.

My priorities at the moment until being told otherwise is to protect the prince at all cost until I know exactly who we are dealing with and the best way I can do that is on my own lands and the best place to do that is on Octavia. Umber may hold the strongest fortress on land but I hold the strongest fortress on water.

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 10.5**

 **Ginoza**

"Your grace, we are Islanders which means our strength lies with our ships." The commander tells me as he sits down behind a small wooden table without taking his eyes off me as he continued, "We are not land soldiers so no, I cannot take you to Harrenhall but you are my prince and my future king and therefor I will protect you and that's why I'm taking you to the Stone Islands."

I don't know anything about the Stone Islands themselves. Maester Aemon never attempted to teach me about their history and culture much. It's like he never saw it necessary for me to learn about them or he simply didn't care…

I don't understand much about warfare, I won't deny that but I don't get what's the difference between land soldiers or whatever kind of soldiers the Islanders view themselves as. To me, soldiers are soldiers and I've seen how one Islander fights. Dormer sure didn't have any problems to kill his targets on land and I'll assume that the others must be the same as him but then again, I don't know anything about warfare.

The commander gets back up, pours some water into a bowl before dipping a piece of cotton cloth into the liquid and comes closer towards me, pressing the water soaked cloth onto my brow causing me to wince as it starts stinging.

"It's not deep…" He states as he gently dabs and further inspects my brow as he rinses the cloth into the water and gently dabs my face to wash off the dried up blood.

"Outch." I wince again as the cloth touches the cut on my cheek but he doesn't seem to be very bothered that he keeps hurting me each time he touches my face.

How can simple water sting so much? If I didn't know any better I would have thought it was some sort of alcohol or something but the liquid itself is scentless compared to how alcohol smells like and well, wine is usually red anyway.

"Is it the first time you've been struck, your grace?" The commander asks as he continues to wash my face and I wish that he would stop already. The left side of my face is aching so much and when I touched my cheek earlier it felt somewhat swollen.

"Yes…" I mutter.

I'm a prince and to strike a prince would be punishable by death so no one has ever dared to touch me because they know better to do so but I've never been problematic towards the people who have been assigned to serve me. I don't try to give them a hard time, I just try to make their jobs much easier. Anyway, my father is free from the law about striking royalty since he's my father but even he has never laid a hand on me because he never had to. I'm not perfect, nobody is perfect but I'd like to think that I'm not a terrible person…

"Those men, they hated me. They never met me before but they hated me." I mutter the words as I remember each of their faces. The look in the eyes of the man who had been on top of me, they were full of hate and rage.

"You are everything that they will never have your grace. Your horse eats better than their children." The commander tells me but it's impossible that those men could have recognized me. They were simply common men and most common people in the capital have never seen me before so the chances that they knew who I was, was probably very slim but I guess my clothing kind of say that my social standing was much higher than theirs.

"I would have given them food if I had any." I say.

If hunger was what caused the people to rebel, I would have fed them all if I could have but if the common people accepted to rebel against their liege lord, I have to wonder exactly what the Richmond had been doing. How could they have allowed their people to starve? How could they have allowed such a thing to come to that point?

"I know you would have but stop thinking about those men, they are dead now." The commander says, taking me out of my thoughts.

They are dead now… Dormer saw to that. He never gave one of them a chance to flee and he even ignored as one tried to plea for his life but it did little good for him. Dormer didn't care at all; he simply cut them down one by one without any remorse.

I know what those men did was horrible but did they deserve to die? They could have received punishment for their actions and be given a second chance for life. Maybe they could have done some great things in the future if they had been given a chance but now we'll never know.

"Are you truly loyal to my father?" I ask as he finishes washing my face.

"Might be hard to believe but yes I am." He answers as he reaches for a brownish paste and gently applies it on my cuts. "And you've somehow gotten good grace with my barbarian giant; you're officially his little bird."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I quickly ask.

A barbarian giant is a fitting title for a man like Dormer but exactly what does that even mean? That I'm officially his little bird, I mean yeah I know he's been calling me that ever since he met me back in Donau but I didn't pay much attention to it. To be honest, I kind of find it creepy how he keeps calling me that. Little bird… Exactly what those that even mean anyway?

"I have no idea." The commander replies as he walks away from me and go back to the small table.

"That's comforting…" I mutter back.

"Your grace, Dormer won't hurt you but he'll hurt anyone you want him to." He suddenly tells me as he puts away a few things back into their little boxes that laid scattered onto the table.

Dormer wouldn't hurt me but he's hurt anyone that I would want to. Exactly what kind of person does the commander think that I am? I'm not like him, I wouldn't try to get one of my soldier's face burned just because of a mistake. I'm better than that.

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" I ask.

"Yes." He answers as he turns to face me and continues with his gaze upon me, "Dormer has expressed his desire to be part of your personal guards and for him to express such a thing is one thing altogether. He won't fail you, that I give you my word, your grace."

I'm not exactly sure how I would feel about that. If Dormer would become one of my personal guards it would mean that he'd be constantly with me almost twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Even more, I don't even know why he would even want to serve as my personal guard to begin with just like I'm not sure why he even came for me back at Emerald Harbor.

Back in Donau, I know that Dormer didn't recognize me as his prince and I'm sure that his friend didn't either. Yes they knew that I was heading to the Harbor to meet lord Richmond but they had no idea that I was the prince and yet the Dread came for me. This whole thing is really creepy, the ship is creepy, everything about this is creeping me out.

"I'm just a prince; you don't have to call me your grace." I tell him. The only person who is called your grace is my father. It's a title only given to kings, not princes. Of all people, a liege lord should know that.

"I say it because I want to say it." The commander states.

This man seems to do and say what he wants a lot. It makes me wonder exactly how he even became liege lord of the Stone Islands in the first place. Did my father choose him and if so, why him? I mean this man, can he really be a good liege lord if he's more than willing to mutilate one of his men for simply speaking out of terms?

"Is my father even searching for me?" I ask, trying to change the subject since it's obviously not going anywhere.

"Yes, he sent many knights out searching for you but this was a delicate situation. He didn't want to cause a mass panic with the people." He answers what I had figured earlier. With me suddenly gone missing, to rise the alarm that I had been attacked and abducted could have sent the people into a mass panic and not to mention it could have encouraged some houses to betray my father also.

"And he sent you to search for me at sea?" I ask.

"No, I chose my men and set sailed by my own accord." He quickly replies so does that mean that my father has no idea that the Islanders have set sailed?

"Why?" The word quickly blurts out.

The commander should know more than anyone how sensitive the position of the Islanders are. They are known as traitors to the crown and it was my father who restored their former positions for whatever reason that I don't know for but acting without the king's permission could be dangerous for them; it could look like a sign of rebellion on their part. Considering the current situation, it wouldn't take much for such actions to be seen as a threat to the crown. Maybe there will be some who will start rumors that the Islanders were the ones who ambushed us int he king's wood and abducted me to spark a new rebellion.

"Because you are my prince." The commander softly states.

Who is this man?

In the last seven years I've never seen him once at the Tearling. I knew there was a new liege lord for the Stone Islands but I didn't know anything else about him. I didn't know how he looked like until now, I don't even know his name and yet he seems so devoted to me and my father but why?

"Will you fight for me if it ever calls for it?" I ask as I remember what lord Richmond told me. Men follow strength beyond everything else but real strength isn't about being a superb soldier. Real strength is about gaining the loyalty of the people by your own merits.

"Die for you if I must." He responds without removing his eyes off me.

"Swear to me." I order as I rise to my feet. I'm not exactly sure why I quickly blurted those words out and I almost feel stupid for even ordering him that since he probably already swore to my father and to the crown so I'm basically making him do it again. I'm an idiot.

The commander draws out his blade from its sheath before taking a step forward and kneels in front of me as he holds out his blade flat in both hands towards me as if offering the large blade to me.

"The Islanders are yours and so is Teppei Sugo, liege lord of the Stone Islands. My sword is yours. My life is yours. My heart is yours." He tells me never lowering his gaze from mine.

I feel my heart start beating harder, I suddenly feel nervous but I don't know why. I guess that I didn't think that he would actually do it but he did without an ounce of hesitation in his actions or his tone. I know he meant every word by the look in his eyes but I still don't understand why he would be willing to be this loyal to me. I know I'm his prince but still…

Anyway, now I know what his name is without having to ask him for it. I honestly had no idea how to ask him such a thing after all I should know the name of all liege lords in my kingdom and yet I don't. There are so many to memorize, I don't know how my father does it.

"The sun will be rising soon; you need to be off this ship by then." Sugo tells me as he sheaths back his sword as he gets up and now I'm confused. He said that he wanted to protect me, that he would die for me if need be and now he wants me off his ship in the middle of the ocean of all places.

"What?" I blurt out the question as I watch him grab a pair of pants and quickly rolls it up.

"You're going to need this, don't lose it." He says as he gives me the rolled up pants and walks out of the cabin and I follow him closely behind with even more confusion. What am I going to do with a pair of pants? I already have pants.

"Everything is ready my lord." The guy from before says to Sugo.

"Well done Kane." Sugo tells him before turning his attention towards me and leads me to the side of the ship where a roped ladder has been hooked on. "We are not too far from Octavia and the morning fog will hide you until you get to the city. Once there, make yourself comfortable within the castle walls and we'll speak once I arrive." He tells me.

"This is madness." I blurt out.

"This is politics your grace." He replies, his facial expression back to when I had first met him moments before he had ordered his soldier Murray to get his face burned.

I can't believe for a minute I thought this man was actually sane. He's completely the opposite of sane, no sane man would ever make someone climb down a ship using a ladder made out of rope. Anyway, does he honestly expect me to swim all the way to the Stone Islands? I don't even know which island is Octavia, only thing I know is that there is only one city on each island and that's it.

With the serious expression that Sugo is giving me, I guess there's really no point in arguing about this. Obviously the commander already made his mind up a while ago but still, this is completely crazy.

I let out a sigh as I shove the rolled up pants inside of my vest for safe keeping even though I still have no idea what I'm supposed to need it for. I climb over the safety wall as I carefully grab onto the roped ladder and start climbing down the ship until I reach the bottom when I feel something touch my legs and I quickly look down to see what it is.

"Kougami!?" I blurt out and he gives me a smile.

"You're a pain to chase after you know that?" He tells me and I can't help but smile back as he turns around, his back facing me and looks over his shoulder. "Hold on, it won't take long." He tells me and I allow myself to drop into the water, wrapping my arms around his torso.

The roped ladder starts being pulled upwards and Kougami starts swimming away from the ship. I never thought I'd ever see him again…


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Kougami**

"We're here." I state the moment I hit the surface and Ginoza quickly lets go of me and waste little time to climb out of the water.

I must say, I was rather enjoying having him so close to me. It felt good having him hold me ever so tightly, his body pressed against mine but hey, it was pleasant while it lasted. I can't ask for more than that.

"How long have you been conspiring with the Islanders?" He asks as I pull myself up onto the edge and by the look he's giving me, I feel as if his question is more like an inquiry order. He expects a full answer of which I can't blame him but still, what is with the attitude all of a sudden?

"Since last night but I had a run in with them the same day you ran away from me actually" I answer. "I got caught in fishing stuff near the port of Fueno; it would have turned out bad for me if it hadn't been for them." I further explain.

"So you used them in order to find me." He tells me with a somewhat stubborn tone in his voice of which I simply do not get.

No matter how you look at it the Islanders basically saved his life, there's no questioning that and he knows that I cooperated with them in order to locate and save him. Even though he knows all of this, I get this feeling, this vibe that Ginoza doesn't seem to trust me at all. It's like he's wary of me for some reason and the only thing that I can come up with that makes any sense as to why he would be this way is if someone fed him more lies about my people…

I won't deny that I did two major mistakes with Ginoza, that I admit and I'm completely at fault for. I shouldn't have approached him the way that I did when we first met. I shouldn't have tried to touch him, to kiss him. I should have known better than to do such a thing but I was being selfish and I was only thinking about myself at the time and for that I was wrong. Truly, I was wrong because I refused to see who he was and after I did see who he is as a person I grew fond of him.

I was a fool without a doubt but I didn't do enough damage to myself it would seem. I just had to ask him to abandon his human life of all things… I just had to ask him to come with me instead of fulfilling his duties on the land. Seriously, what was it that I was expecting? Of course he's wary of me but even so, his sudden attitude towards me isn't truly justified either.

"No, I found you in Donau all by myself. I knew which ship you were on; I just didn't know where you were going." I reply, catching Ginoza's eyes in the process. I could swear that there's a fire burning deep inside of those emerald orbs of his.

"So you found the commander and told him on which ship I was on and you got him to follow it." He further says, his attitude not seeming to waver at all.

I really do not get him right now. He seemed rather happy to see me when he climbed down the Islanders' ship and saw me, he didn't hesitate to drop down into the ocean and he was very cooperative during the entire travel to the Octavian Cave but now, since we arrived here, he's being rather distant from me and I do not like the attitude that he's giving me. Did something happen on that ship that I'm not aware of and he somewhat blames me for it?

"I heard a large human talking, saying how a little bird was going to Emerald Harbor. He wanted to follow it and he happened to mention the ship this little bird was on so I connected the dots that he was probably talking about you and I took a gamble." I explain and add, "The gamble paid off, you could have been killed."

Everything that happened that night was all up to chance. I found where Ginoza was all by pure luck and it was simply coincidence that an Islanders' ship was docked in Donau for the night too. Even so, all I cared about was to stay close to the ship called the Grace, I didn't want to miss it when it would have set sailed since I didn't know where it was going so I ignored the Islanders for the large part of the night.

During the early morning, some humans caught my attention and by how they were dressed I knew it was the Islanders but the one that caught my eye was the giant man. I quickly recognized him as being the one who had been holding me down while the commander was cutting off the ropes that were tangled up around me in Fueno so I knew they were probably the same men so I got closer and listened to what they were talking about.

The giant expressed his desire to do a quick stop to Emerald Harbor because of a little bird that he wanted to keep an eye on which resulted in the others to laugh at his foolish desire until the commander showed up and all went quiet as their liege lord spoke. He told them how they were bound for the Iron Wall and their next stop would be there so that's when I took on a gamble and approached them and confessed everything about the last few days and about Ginoza being on board of the Grace but I was an idiot… I took my eyes off the Grace for far too long, it didn't feel like it was long but when I turned around to look back at the ship it was already gone so we were behind but we still managed to reach Emerald Harbor just in time.

"He's a strange man, the commander." Ginoza states taking me out of my thoughts but this time his tone is much softer so was he just trying on interrogating me or something? If so, he needs a lot more practice, he doesn't have it in him.

"Strange indeed but you can trust him because I do." I tell him which is already strange enough for me to trust a human but strange enough I do. The Stone Commander is an odd man, he's a very skilled liar and yet an honest man none the less. He's definitely good at playing the game that's called politics, Ginoza could learn a lot from him if he pays attention that is.

I must admit though that I had been rather nervous about going near that harbor. After all, the waters there are so clear that it's pretty much impossible for my people to hide and so many of us have died in those waters so I had to completely depend on the Islanders and when I saw the harbor was on fire, the fear suddenly crept down at me.

When I saw the harbor was on fire, I knew it was a coup. It was definitely a form of rebellion and knowing that there are some who are currently conspiring against Ginoza's father I deeply feared for his well-being. He definitely would have made a pretty gift to whoever is the new lord of Emerald Harbor and in turn, the new liege lord could have used Ginoza as a bargaining ship to a new king.

I honestly didn't know what to think when only one man was lowered into a rowing boat to go to shore. Only the giant human was the one who left in search for Ginoza. To me, such a thing was complete madness and yet the giant succeeded into retrieving Ginoza alive and somewhat unharmed if I ignore the cut on his brow and cheek.

"Kougami what are you doing?" Ginoza asks as I carefully drag myself further away from the water.

"Going with you, I'm going to need a few minutes though." I answer as I lean my bare back against a stone wall.

"Kougami you're a merman. You can't follow me but thank you for helping me and thank you for saving me the other night." He tells me as if he thinks that will be enough to convince me from doing otherwise. I do appreciate the gratitude though, he's not just saying it for the sake of saying it but he really does mean it and that means a lot to me. It really does.

I've made up my mind a while ago, I made a promise to myself and I plan on keeping it until the very end. I promised myself if I ever was to meet Ginoza again in the flesh, if fate would allow me this grace that I would follow him and keep him safe until the very end even if it would cost me my own life.

Ginoza is much too naive for his own good, the humans who want to bring him harm will eat him alive at this point. Ginoza can't survive this chaos on his own, he needs wise council and if he'll have me I will do everything in my power to provide it to him.

I would like to count myself as an honorable man and he has a strong ally on his side. The Stone Commander will fight for him until his last breath that's without any doubt. He'll fight for Ginoza's honor and he will be able to provide good council but in order for everything to work, Ginoza will have to listen and I deeply hope that he will. For his sake and that of his people that he seems to love so much, he has to.

"You're welcome but I'm not done. I'm going to be following you like a damn hawk from now on." I further tell him resulting in Ginoza giving me an odd look as if he's not taking me seriously at all.

I guess it can't really be helped since how I currently look. I do sound like a total idiot right now but being out of the water for so long, I already feel my scales tightening with each passing second and I know what is coming soon and that is not going to be a pleasant period but the pain will be worth it in the end.

"Kougami I don't need you to-" Ginoza starts telling me only to stop mid-sentence as his eyes widen in shock or in horror, either way I guess it doesn't really matter. What's happening to me right now isn't really a pleasant experience on both ends nor is it really a pretty sight to behold. "Kougami! Your tail!" He exclaims as he quickly kneels down to me, his eyes obviously filled with concern for what is happening to me right before his eyes.

"If you're not in a rush, I could use a minute. It hurts more than it looks." I tell him as I force a smile through the pain.

I look down at my tail as I watch the once blue vibrant scales slowly start to turn grey to black before disintegrating completely. With each scale that crumbles away sends a jolt of pain throughout my body and slowly as my tail keeps on disintegrating, I start seeing the colour of pale flesh and the formation of two strong human legs.

"But how?" Ginoza asks, his eyes glued onto what is left of my tail, not really sure exactly what he should be doing.

"We don't need water to live. We remain in our aquatic form as long as our tail remains wet in salted water but once it dries we can shed our scales and pretend to be humans." I explain and continue, "We can return to our former selves by returning to the ocean but we must do so before every new moon otherwise we'll never be able to return to our aquatic forms ever again."

It's something that we are all told at a very young age and it's the one thing that the elders keep on reminding us over and over again to the point that it's one of the most boring topics for a conversation but it's still a harsh reality that many didn't take seriously and paid the price for their ignorance.

Many of my people decided that it would be fun to live both human lives and a life under the vast ocean. To be honest I can't blame them because the world on the land is quite beautiful but you can easily lose track of time and many couldn't keep up. They became immersed in their human lives to the point that they no longer paid any attention to the moon. They failed to return to the sea before the new moon and in the end they lost their ability to return to the ocean. Of course other full blooded Merpeople can turn them back as if nothing happened but in doing so would unleash the wrath of Poseidon, our mighty king. To him, anyone who act so carelessly and loses their aquatic form do not deserve to be given a second chance to live under the ocean.

It is said and to be honest I'm not exactly certain if it is true but it is said that the first ancestors of the Islanders were Merpeople who failed to return to the ocean. It is said that their first civilization had been the great water city of Atlantica and their numbers quickly grew and they expanded their territory onto other islands and eventually formed the infamous Stone Islands but then again it's just rumors that I've heard. I'm not even sure if it is true but it would make sense. I've never seen any human civilization who worship my people so much as the Islanders does.

"You're insane." Ginoza exclaims but I can't say otherwise because it is rather insane what I'm doing but this is my choice and I have every right to do this. This is not a selfish act, I'm doing this to help Ginoza because he desperately needs it even if he refuses to admit it and I know that my king will understand my actions but I will do everything that I can to honor the law. I will return to the sea before the new moon.

"Maybe so but it's not that bad." I tell him as I grab his wrists and pull him towards me, causing him to fall onto my lap, his face so close to mine. "Something is different about you, you seem less innocent." I state as I carefully observe his expression.

I didn't want to say anything before because I didn't feel it was my place but I can't continue to ignore it. Ever since I laid eyes on him back at the ship, there's something different about him. There was a scent on his skin and even though he's been in the ocean for some time it's still faintly there and I hate it. He's been tainted with another human's scent, it's disgusting!

He feels less innocent than how he was on the first day that we met back in the cave and yet he's still just as naive as before so that hasn't changed.

"Nothing has changed." He quickly states but he can't hide the growing tint of redness on his cheeks.

"Then why are you turning red?" I ask which further causes his face to flush.

"You're so indecent!" He shouts back at me as he tries to pull his wrists free from me but I don't let him do so.

"You kept yourself busy under Richmond's roof for the short amount of time you were there." I say as I continue to observe his expression and for a slight second his eyes widen and my assumptions are proven correct much to my dismay.

Considering how Ginoza behaved with me when we first met, I didn't think of him as the type who would simply give it all away on such a whim but I guess I was wrong and I must say that I'm rather disappointed in him.

Noble men and most noble women know nothing about love. They don't court, they simply arrange marriages to complete unknowns by their parents and that's it. Love isn't known as a necessity to them so I don't expect any human to know what true love is or to even understand and cherish the meaning of the first time.

Intimacy between two individual isn't just about the pleasure, it's a testimony about two unique individuals' feelings they have for one another. It becomes even more important when one of them is still pure and innocent because even though they might be afraid during their most vulnerable moment, they willingly give themselves up to their lover as a declaration of their faith and trust. It's a special moment that marks one's step further into adulthood and for that it should be cherish for all that it is and not because of lust.

I knew that Ginoza was naive but I didn't think that he would allow himself to be manipulated into doing such an act without even knowing the meaning behind it but should it really surprise me…? All noble men has had a few flings before being wed, Ginoza isn't any different… He's still human, a foolish human none the less but still a human.

"Ginoza how old are you exactly?" I ask the dreaded question.

"I'm not turning sixteen for another month…" He answers and I wish someone would just slap me in the face right about now.

Okay I knew he wasn't older than sixteen but I was at least hoping that he had reached it by now and was actually on his way to the age of seventeen. It would have sounded less awful considering what he did during his short time under Richmond's roof but the shame lies to the one who manipulated him into doing such a thing in the first place. Ginoza is nothing more than a child!

"You're a child." I state.

"I'm not a child." He barks back and I have to control the urge to shake him in order to shake some much needed sense into him.

Ginoza is fifteen, okay almost sixteen but still, he's not an adult yet and I know that Ginoza knows this so he shouldn't try to argue with me about this. He's a child, nothing more and I should know, I'm old enough to be his grand grand grand grandfather… Wait… Yeah now that sounds rather creepy on my part when I think about it that way…

"You completely disregard the consequences of your actions, that is why you are a child-"

"Nothing happened!" He cuts me off as he manages to free himself from my grip and quickly backs away towards a stone wall as he brings his knees up to his chest and buries his face in his knees.

"Ginoza?" I softly say his name but he doesn't look up at me.

"I didn't do anything…" He mutters, his face still buried into his knees to the point that he was barely understandable.

"Ginoza, tell me what happened." I tell him as I carefully move closer towards him, trying to ignore the pain in my newly formed legs. "Ginoza?" I softly say his name again as I gently lift his head in order for him to look at me and he does without putting up a fight much to my joy.

His eyes are saying so many different things right now. He's tired, that's the one major thing that they are telling me at the moment but that's not all. There is now shame in them, something that was not present before. He's afraid, doubtful and somewhat confused. I fear this whole situation concerning the crown is going to eat him up and spit him back out. It's slowly killing him.

"Her name was Osha, she's a maid in lord Richmond's household…" He tells me as he avoids my gaze.

"Go on." I gently urge him as I try to catch his gaze again but he keeps on avoiding me.

"She said that she wanted to take good care of me, said that pleasing women takes practice and that she wanted to teach me how to please a woman…" He continues telling me after a few minutes of silence.

I figured that it was something like that but Ginoza is so foolish, I still can't believe that he allowed a simple woman to seduce him. He allowed himself to be led by temptations and completely disregarded the consequences of his actions. He's just so naive and innocent, I know that it's not entirely his fault but still. He has a voice; he can make his own decisions so he should be more responsible. He can't always be a victim, he needs to stand up for himself and if he can't stand up to a simple woman, how can he do it to the enemy when the time will come…?

Anyway, sounds to me that this so called maid isn't really a maid at all but something that human men would call a whore. She's simply a woman pretending to be a maid and instead of actually doing what a maid is supposed to do she instead sleeps with any man for the right price and since she's under the services of lord Richmond, it's safe to assume that he pays her to sleep around with his men.

Richmond must have concocted a plan into gaining Ginoza on his side and to be able to play Ginoza like a little puppet by playing to Ginoza's desires. It surely wouldn't be hard to manipulate him, anyone with a decent brain could come up with something and Richmond went with the easy method. He knows that young human boys are lustful due to their young age and the fact that their bodies have entered the sudden change to manhood. These young boys are often too shy to initiate sexual intimacy with a woman for the first time so he used his whore to his advantage and she played Ginoza like a violin.

"But I couldn't do it…" Ginoza mutters catching my attention, dragging me out of my thoughts.

He didn't do it? Now I'm confused.

If he didn't do anything then why does he feel shame? I do not understand unless he wanted to but just didn't have the guts to go through the whole thing. If that's the case, it sure isn't something that I want to coax him to do so I'll leave it be for now but there is no need to feel any shame for it.

To be honest though I do feel some joy in this recent news.

"You were not ready; you're still just a child and that's okay." I quickly tell him.

"It's not that…" He mutters back.

"Then what is it?" I ask.

"I don't know if I'm promised to another… My father never talks to me about politics and what he plans for me but I'm the prince and the prospect of marriage helps to strengthen the bonds between houses." He tells me.

So that's what's really bothering him. It's not the fact that he could have slept with a woman but the fact that he wishes to remain faithful to a young lady that he might be promised to. It is truly a noble thought and his assumptions aren't wrong, chances are that he's been promised to a young noble girl since birth.

"Arranged marriages within noble families are a regular thing but that never stops noble lords from wandering at night in search for pleasure." I tell him.

Ginoza shouldn't feel guilty if his eyes wander around, he sure wouldn't be the first nor would he be the last to do so but I do admire his commitment. It's truly an example that many should follow; it is truly a mature and responsible decision.

"Noble ladies are expected to remain innocent until marriage but the same can't be said for the lords." He further tells me and asks, "Why should the ladies be expected to remain innocent when the lords aren't expected to do the same?"

"It's a matter of human politics really. You see Ginoza, men in your society own women like properties, they are not interested in raising another man's child as one of theirs nor do they want a woman that another man has slept with as their wife." I explain to him but I know that my explanation is quite distasteful and I don't agree with it but that is the truth.

Human men, especially the nobles do not want a woman who has been previously touched by another man. They desire only pure young noble ladies who are beautiful and graceful and they will complain none stop if they must look at a lady who isn't beautiful. And yet, noble ladies do not have the right to do the same, they must remain quiet even if their new husband happens to be a fat old man. Their only duty is to satisfy their lord husbands in bed and to provide him with children but the whole concept of children need to be said fast. Noble lords only desire sons and not daughters. If a lady fails to produce a son, well she's then branded as a woman who can't do her job.

"But they are fine by making bastards in brothels and pleasure houses." Ginoza state and that I can't argue against either. Noble men refuse to marry a woman who isn't pure but they have no problems sleeping with women who have been touched more than a thousand times over if they have no obligations towards them. It doesn't even matter if the woman is ugly or beautiful, to them all that matters is if they can have their fill of pleasure for the night. It's truly disgusting if you ask me.

"If only that was the worst thing that most noble men do but it's not. There are much worse things than that but you should never feel obligated to do something if you're not ready." I tell Ginoza and continue, "There's nothing wrong with being innocent and pure, even more considering your young age. But, if you ask me, you should wait until it's with someone special and not some random individual just because they are willing to give it to you for free."

I honestly find it very honorable and respectful that Ginoza wishes to remain pure for whoever lady that he's bound to marry even if he has never met her. It's not something that you see every day and hopefully his future wife will love him ever the more for it. Whoever she will be, I'm sure she'll be a lucky lady and a happy wife. Ginoza gives me the impression that he would truly take care of his wife if he is to marry, he'll truly treasure her.

"You almost sound like Maester Aemon." He says and a soft smile forms on his lips as he adds, "Are you an old man in a young body?"

"I'm probably four times the age of your Maester." I answer back.

"Maester Aemon is eighty-seven years old." He quickly states.

"We slowly age; I've been around for a few hundred years." I tell him and without a doubt he's surprised. I don't think he was expecting me to be that old and I can sense a bit of skeptical in his tone.

In the past, all the humans that I have ever told my age always gives me the exact same reaction. It never ceases to make me laugh and their expression is always comical. Not as much as when they see our tail shedding off but still rather comical. It's always the two things that they never seem to expect.

"Come on lets go, I'm good to go now." I tell him as I rise up on my new-found feet and I must say it feels strange walking again on solid ground. It's been so long since I was in this form.

"You're naked…" Ginoza states as he gets up and I must say I kind of forgot about that. That's going to be quite a sight once we enter the castle, hopefully the people in there don't have a faint heart. Well, I don't think it's a terrible sight. I might get some laughs in the process.

"Do you like the view?" I ask which only causes Ginoza to turn red again as he pulls out some fabric out of his vest.

"Kougami, here." He says as he tosses the lump of fabric to me and I catch it and adds, "Until you find something else to wear."

I unroll the lump of fabric only to find out that it's a pair of pants and I can't help but let out a chuckle just thinking about that man. He really does think about everything, he always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else and that's a good thing. It's really a good thing; Ginoza sure is going to need someone like that if a war ignites and I'm sure that one is coming.

"You know, I didn't tell him that." I admit as I put on the pants and I honestly did not miss wearing pants. I'm sad for every human who must wear pants, these things are so uncomfortable.

"He probably knows you're an old man too." Ginoza suddenly blurts out teasingly.

"Hey!" I quickly call out.

It's good that he's finally found a sense of humor even if it is at my own expenses but considering my age I can't really argue with him. To his eyes, I am basically an old man in a sense much to my dismay but there's nothing I can really do about it. I'm not getting any younger and every human that I once knew died a long time ago. It's the one thing that I find really hard about having such a long lifespan, it's having to watch those I've grown fond of grow old and then die of old age while I remain the same.

"Careful now, we wouldn't want you to break a hip old man." Ginoza quickly adds before bolting into a run towards a long staircase.

"I'll show you an old man!" I shout back as I run after him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Kougami**

The Stone Commander of the royal navy, Teppei Sugo the forty-eight liege lord of the Stone Islands and Warden of the sea. That man never seems in ceasing to amaze me. I'm not exactly sure how he managed to pull this one off but the castle's maester was already fully aware that I would be bringing Ginoza to Octavia through the underwater cave. Every personnel who work in this castle were waiting for our arrival and I must say, we were greeted quite warmly.

The hospitality in this castle is quite charming and being able to change into some more comfortable and dry clothing was well needed but still. It's such a fucking drag to wear clothes in general and if you ask me, I look like a total idiot dressed up like this since clothing really does not suit me very well no matter the colour it is but Ginoza on the other hand couldn't look any better.

The maid chose to dress us in the Islanders' style of clothing and at first I was dreading what she would have come up with considering how the Commander and his men were dressed. To be honest they do look like a bunch of barbarians and that's definitely not how I would want Ginoza to resemble but what we received was not what I was expecting at all.

Instead of presenting us with black tattered clothing, she instead presented us with the clothing style that I remembered seeing many years ago when Atlantica was still alive and well. I'm truly glad to see the old culture is in fact still alive; it's good to see that some things never die no matter how much time changes things.

Anyway, Ginoza has been dressed in a simple Doric style dark green chiton pinned at the shoulders by identical silver clasps on each side leaving his arms bare due to the chiton being sleeveless but long white arm warmers that covers part of his hands were added to compensate the lack of sleeves of his chiton and a simple silver belt around his waist was used to carefully secure the chiton in place but not without a modern twist to the ancient style.

Chitons have always been simple tunics but in the past these tunics were nothing more than large rectangular tube piece of fabrics that fell down to the ankles and on rare occasions depending on what the human's profession was, it would fall down to the knees but the clothing itself was never really practical if it consisted of hard labored work.

In Ginoza's case, his chiton only consists of the upper body and only falls down at his hips, a wide decorative belt at the waist helps to keep the chiton well secured. White form fitting pants have been combined with the style with knee high brown boots which helps make the style much more sophisticated and if you ask me, I find it to be much more practical.

It's quite clear just by looking at the clothing, it's quite easy to see that being able to perform combat was a top priority. Everything is quite form fitting but nothing would hinder in the wearer's movements. Ginoza could indeed fight in this without having any problems if he needed to. The arm warmers that he's wearing have been made to cover his palms and the top of his hands with a gash on the inner sides to allow the thumb to come out for a better grip. It's like wearing thin gloves but just for the palms while leaving his fingers bare and it sure would help to keep his grip on his sword much better in actual combat.

The only piece of clothing that Ginoza isn't wearing is the silver himation. For some reason he refuses to wear it which is a shame because he would look good in it but if he doesn't want to wear it I can't force him to. The himation is mainly used to keep the wearer warm so if he starts feeling cold, I do hope that he will wear it. That's what it's for after all.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask Ginoza as I catch him staring at me again instead of actually reading what the maester has asked him to like an hour ago that is. He's so not focusing on his studies at all; I wonder what his grand maester would have to say about this.

"Does the water help to prevent all of your skin from sagging?" He asks instead of answering my question.

To be honest, I should have seen that one coming from a mile away. Ever since I told him my age, he's been constantly asking me these ridiculous questions and at this point I can't tell if he's simply doing this for a laugh or if he's simply trying to suck out all of my patience from me in order to get a free ticket out of his studies…

"Could be…" I answer back as I return my attention back to this book that is completely useless.

How is a damn book supposed to help anyone prepare for a siege is well beyond me… I never really got the concept of laying siege to a city in the first place. I mean if a city has mighty high walls, just rain the attackers with arrows and large rocks in order to crush the attackers' skulls to mush and pierce them with rains of arrows from above. Push the ladders away from the walls before anyone has the time to climb them. I mean seriously, how hard can it be to defend a city from a siege?

"If you're so old, how come you're not going bald?" He asks after a few minutes of silence. "Or is it still too early?" He further adds to his question. What will be next I wonder, how do I hide my greying hair?

I discreetly glance in his direction before turning my gaze towards the old maester and I can just tell how the old man is just itching in his chair as he tries to ignore all of his prince's absurd questions to me as best as he can but I think he's reaching his limits. Ginoza is starting to drive the old maester crazy and I'm starting to think that maybe that's exactly what he wants. I don't think that Ginoza wants to be studying right now and he'll do anything in order to keep himself from actually reading even if it means asking me such ridiculous questions in order to kill time. Either way, I can't blame him since it's such a beautiful day today and we've been cooped up inside since we arrived this morning.

"Only human men seem to have that fate of going bald I'm afraid." I say as I casually flip a page of my book with little care in the world.

"I heard that my grandfather didn't lose a single hair on his head." Ginoza tells me.

Can't say that I know if that's a fact or myth since I've never seen the man per say nor have I tried to when he was still alive but from what I've heard here and there, the man was actually quite a lunatic and not many were sad when he actually died from old age but that's not something that I'll be telling Ginoza. I seriously doubt it that he wants to learn from me that his grandfather was known as a complete madman in the end of his reign.

"Four hundred and seventy-six years old, really?" He asks and I hear the old maester let out a long sigh.

"I never should have told you that…" I reply back.

"You're not just old, you're ancient. No wait; you're the equivalent of an antique." Ginoza quickly follows back with another remark and I have to force myself not to laugh at it as I struggle not to smile either. If I laugh I'll only be encouraging him to continue which is exactly what he wants and that wouldn't be good when it comes to the old maester's sake but I am enjoying myself none the less.

"Very funny." I calmly say as I remain straight face and continue to flip through this boring old book.

With my old age, I'm expected to remain mature and basically the responsible one even though I want to tease Ginoza in return but I don't due to the maester being here with us. Ginoza on the other hand, well he's an adolescent and this kind of behavior is quite normal and if you ask me it's quite refreshing seeing him act his own age for once even if it is starting to drive the old maester crazy at this point.

The mess hall grows quiet again as Ginoza returns back to his book that he obviously loathes to death and would probably burn if given the chance. The thing is that maybe having him study in the mess hall might not have been such a good idea in the first place and was definitely a mistake on the maester's part.

The room is rather large with a lot of vogue and it's rather distracting to a sixteen year old who probably simply wants to wander around the castle that he's never seen before and just wants to see things. I honestly don't know or understand why the maester insists that Ginoza resumes his studies as if it were a matter of life and death. I say let him live a little, the books will still be there tomorrow.

"I just had a sudden realization." Ginoza suddenly voices out and I brace myself for whatever that just occurred to him. Whatever it might be, it's definitely going to be at mt expenses and I'm not sure if that's a good thing at this point. Maybe it will be enough to tivk the maester off.

"And what is that?" I ask.

"You're a Pedophile." He quickly blurts out with a straight face.

"Hey!" I exclaim. I must admit I wasn't expecting that one and considering that I did touch him and I did kiss him, I really can't defend myself against such a statement. I'm guilty but love has no age but I did pull a move on a child. My bad but I don't regret it, I'd do it again too if he'd allow me that is and I can always hope that he will someday.

"Nobuchika, my prince. Now you are just being rude." The maester calmly voices out.

Nobuchika…

So that's his common name, he never did tell me what it was before nor did I give him mine either. I must say that it's quite a sophisticated name, very fitting for a human prince but where does the Ginoza come from I wonder. If I recall correctly his family is the house Masaoka and their colours are dark green and silver which explains why the maid dressed Ginoza in those colours in specific compared to what she gave me. Simple ivory colours, dull lame colours but they'll have to do…

"It's alright maester Rodrigue." I assure the old man and he gives me a disapproval look in his eyes but he doesn't object to my decision none the less. That's one of the things that I love about this place, my word is law to these people and none dare to argue with what I say. Not even the maester much to my satisfaction so maybe I can save Ginoza from this useless studying somehow.

"What? You said it yourself in a sense." Ginoza tells me and I know what he means. He's aiming at the fact that I touched and kissed him back in the cave but if you ask me, he doesn't seem too bothered by it at all.

"And you're so bothered by it; you have nightmares at night that gives you morning wood the next day." I shoot back.

"A change of topic would be greatly appreciated." The maester quickly voices out not like I wasn't expecting him to do so. After all, he's a maester sworn to forsake all forms of intimacy until death so it would only be natural for the man to voice out his disapproval at the subject of sexual content.

"What's morning wood?" Ginoza asks with a puzzled look on his face and I can't hold in my laughter which further confuses him.

He did not just ask that and I have to observe his facial expression a bit before concluding that he is in fact serious and has absolutely no idea what morning wood is and I have to wonder if it has ever happened to him before. He's still young so maybe his libido is still quite low and considering how he was able to reject the advances of a naked woman who had been sitting on his own naked form in a tub of water, yeah his libido must be quite low at the moment.

"And this is why such topics should be encouraged in his case." I tell the maester as he shakes his head in disbelief which makes things even funnier but seriously though. Ginoza needs a sexual education on a whole other level; he's so green and clueless that it's almost painful to watch. Honestly though, I've never met anyone who knows so little about sexuality as he does.

"What's encouraged?" Ginoza asks which makes me laugh even harder. Unbelievable, truly unbelievable. His father made a cripple out of his own son by sheltering so much. It's time for a serious intervention here and a big one at that. Hopefully the Stone Commander will see things exactly how I do.

"Maester Rodrigue, I believe the good prince can resume his studies later. He's in need of serious sleep." I tell the maester and ask, "Got a cure for that?"

"Essence of Night Shade would help the prince to relax and have a sound slumber." He tells me.

"Essence of Night Shade it is then." I agree as I close my boring old book of uselessness.

"Maester Aemon has never given me Essence of Night Shade before, my father never allowed it." Ginoza states and adds, "He's never been much of a believer of using sleeping aids and such."

I haven't met a single human who doesn't use Essence of Night Shade, they basically all use it and it doesn't matter how old they are, they use it. As to why the king refuses to use them is beyond me and quite frankly I wonder if it's even true. He's got to use something to sleep and when other problems arise, he has to use some remedies for relief.

"I would not recommend a constant usage on a daily basis but once in a while, aid is required and encouraged my prince." The maester tells Ginoza as he slowly stands up and walks over to Ginoza. "The recommended dosage would be five drops in a cup of water but since you have never used such things before, I believe that one drop will suffice to simply relax the mind." The maester adds as he takes out a small glass vial with a golden liquid as its content and pours a single drop into Ginoza's cup of water.

"Thank you Maester Rodrigue." I thank the maester as he walks away and Ginoza takes a sip of his water only to grimace as he swallows.

"One drop… It tastes awful. I wouldn't want to know how five drops tastes like." Ginoza voices out as he stares at his cup of water with disgust.

"Essence of Night Shade, it does sound like it tastes terrible." I admit but I guess the fact that it tastes awful is a clear sign of a payback for all those absurd questions that he kept asking earlier which makes it even funnier.

"Do you want a sip?" He asks as he holds the cup for me to take and adds playfully, "In your old age, it must be hard to sleep now a day."

"Essence of Night Shade is toxic to my people. As much as it is beneficial to humans, it is a pure poison to us." I state and he quickly pulls the cup away from me and takes another sip followed by more grimacing.

Essence of Night Shade is a mix of different herbs and together they form what is called Essence of Night Shade. It's a concoction that helps humans to sleep when they've been under too much stress and as much as it helps humans, it could kill us if we were ever to consume it even if we're in our human form.

"I'll take Essences of Lavender oil over this any day. It tastes awful." Ginoza tells me after he takes another sip.

An essence of Lavender oil is not something humans consume. It's mainly used to fill a room with a delicate fragrance and the scent of Lavender oil helps to promote sleep but from what I hear it doesn't work as well as Essence of Night Shade.

"You've been pampered way too much if you ask me." I tell him.

"You say it like it's my fault." Ginoza mutters back. That wasn't exactly what I meant but now that I look back at how I said it, yeah that was insensitive on my part.

"That's not what I meant. I know your upbringing was heavily sheltered and you always did what you were told by your father or the grand maester." I quickly correct myself.

I understand that the death of Ginoza's mother was probably very hard for his father, he must have loved her very much to the point that he never remarried and he wants to protect his son no matter what. I understand that, I really do. A father would do anything to protect his child but there has to be a limit and he went way beyond that limit. He sheltered his son so much that he basically crippled him; instead it would have been better off sticking a knife in his kid's chest and be done with it.

Due to Ginoza's upbringing, he's naïve, innocent and way too optimistic for this cruel dark world. He's much too trusting and he believes what everyone tells him much too easily and even though it's quite a tragedy, what happened to him in the king's wood was the best thing that could ever have happened to him. He's now away from the capital and he's got a chance to actually learn how to be an adult man, how to be a better prince and in the end, he now has a fighting chance of becoming a good king.

"I never disobeyed my father. I always did exactly what I was told; I behaved and spoked exactly how I was supposed to…" Ginoza tells me and I believe him. I believe that he's always been exactly what his father wanted him to be. I believe that he's always been a well-mannered young man, a respectable young man even.

"I know everything is in chaos right now but all of this allowed you to leave the capital. You've been given a chance to grow and discover exactly who you are." I tell him and it's the truth. He's safe now and he can concentrate on himself instead of finding safety. He's safe and I'll make sure he remains safe.

"I guess…" He mutters as he takes another sip of his water with not much enthusiasm.

"You have to drink it all. You've been under a lot of stress; some rest would do you some good." I tell him and continue, "So finish drinking that and then you should go lie down in your room-"

"Pardon me, sir." Ginoza cuts me off, completely ignoring what I was telling him and places the cup onto the table as he rises up to his feet quickly and walks over to the Islander soldier than just entered the mess hall.

"I'm no sir." He responds as he sits down, his left hand covered in a thick fabric.

"I'm sorry about what I did to your hand. I never should have bitten you; I don't know why I did it. I wasn't thinking." Ginoza tells him and I'm not exactly sure if I understood him correctly. Ginoza bite one of the Islanders? Why in the seven hells would he do such a thing?

"You're not the one that owes an apology… It is I…" The Islander says and now I'm even more confused. Exactly what the hell happened on that ship? "I disregarded the situation, my actions were disgraceful and I had no right to touch you in the first place. I got what I deserved." The Islander adds.

So let me get this whole thing straight. This guy dared to touch Ginoza for whatever reason that I don't know and Ginoza ended up biting him… Anyway, whatever it was about it's none of my business and they seem to have come to an understanding so all is good in my opinion.

"Is your finger going to heal properly?" Ginoza asks as he sits down next to the Islander.

"No… It's a goner." The man answers as he removes the cloth from his left hand revealing his hand now lacking his index finger.

"I crippled your hand…" Ginoza mutters, his eyes fixated onto the man's hand.

Ginoza sure bite really hard in order to cause the man to lose his whole finger right down to the knuckle but the guy doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he's now missing a limb and that Ginoza is the one who caused it. Actually he seems rather content as he places a few things that he'll be using to treat his injury.

We've been here for many hours, to be honest I kind of lost track of time but anyway we arrived at Octavia a little before sunrise and we're already reaching late afternoon so since this man is here, I'm assuming that the Dread finally arrived at the Island but I can't believe that this man didn't treat his injury until now. It looks pretty bad to me.

"It's just a finger, I'm not crippled." The man answers like it's nothing.

"If only maester Aemon was here, I've seen him sew severed limbs back many times. Once they heal, it's always as if nothing happened. Other than the scar, it's like the injury never even occurred…" Ginoza states as he reaches for a small blade that the man had laid down on the table not long ago and gently pulls the man's injured hand towards him.

Ginoza carefully starts removing all of the dead skin around the wound, the knife so sharp that it's cutting through the skin like it was butter. I silently watch Ginoza work like he's done this a hundred times before but what is more remarkable is the man doesn't even wince as Ginoza cuts off the dead skin. It's like he's completely immune to pain or he hides it really well.

"As expected from a grand maester of the citadel but that's the life of a soldier. If you're not prepared to lose a few limbs at any given moment, you have no business on the battlefield." The man replies as he watches Ginoza tend to his wound.

"I don't know anything about warfare. I know how to use a sword but I don't think I have any right to call myself a swordsman." Ginoza tells him almost bitterly and adds, "My skills are rather pathetic…"

Fighting isn't everything and maybe it's just not in him and that's okay. Not everyone can be good soldiers but from what I can see right now, Ginoza's real skills lie in the arts of healing. He knows exactly what he's doing; he knows exactly what he needs to do first and what to do next like it's no big deal. First he removed all of the dead skin, then he cleaned the wound and then proceeded in stitching the wound closed with threads of silk and I must say he can sew a wound closed quite beautifully. The wound will indeed heal very well without much scaring.

"Kings don't fight, they rule. They bark orders behind their strong walls and leave everything else to their men." The man states and that's basically what a king is. They don't deliberately put themselves in danger; they give out commands to their men and direct all of the political affairs. Their place just isn't on the battlefield, they're the ones who must manage all of the delicate things in this world.

"Being a king sounds cowardly…" Ginoza mutters as he rinses the tips of his fingers with water.

I must say that I'm actually impressed that he managed to tend to a wound without dirtying more than his fingertips. His white arm warmers remain perfectly white as if he did nothing, now that's some skills.

"Power is a curious thing. Are you fond of riddles?" The man asks.

"I don't mind them." Ginoza quickly responds as he dries his fingers with a clean dry cloth.

I've never been very fond of riddles because to me, they never seem to make much sense and the answer always ends up making even less sense. It ends by making everything so confusing and I understand things even less.

"Three great men sit in a room: a king, a priest, and a rich man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each great man bids the sellsword kill the other two. Who lives, who dies?" The man says, his gaze onto Ginoza as he spoke and I must say now that's an odd riddle.

"Depends on the sellsword I suppose." Ginoza answers.

"Does it? He has neither crown, nor gold, nor favor with the gods." The Islander replies.

"But he has a sword. He can choose whoever he wants to kill; he could choose to kill all three if he wanted to." Ginoza further answers and I must agree with Ginoza's decision since if the three great men bid the sellsword to kill the other two, it's really up to the sellsword to decide the fate of the great men since he will be the one to do the killing. The sellsword can choose whatever is more beneficial to him.

"But if it's swordsmen who rule, why do we pretend kings hold all the power?" The Islander asks and continues, "When a man loses his head in an execution, who was truly responsible? The king? The executioner? Or something else?"

That is without a doubt the creepiest riddle I have ever heard in my life but it's kind of true if you really stop and think about it. If it is truly the soldiers who rule then why do common low born humans pretend that only a certain few hold all the power?

"I just realized how riddles creep me out." Ginoza states exactly what was on my mind. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who finds it rather creepy but still, it's a riddle that makes you think.

"Power resides where men believe it resides." The Islander says and again that is true. Men will follow those that they believe in deep down in their hearts. "It's a trick. A shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow." The man adds and I can't help but smile at that but I'm not exactly sure if Ginoza understood what the man meant.

It really doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter if you are a strong fighter or not and it doesn't matter what it is you can do. What matters is if the people around you believe in you enough to follow you to whatever end. If you have their beliefs and their uttermost faith, it really doesn't matter who you are, they will follow you. Ginoza might not be a strong soldier but he's got his own skills to make him great but he's also kind and compassionate which is really rare to find in high borns and I strongly believe if he is nurtured in the right way, he can eventually cast quite a very large shadow.

"I'm still sorry about your hand…" Ginoza tells the man.

"Don't be." The Islander quickly replies back before shuffling Ginoza's hair with his uninjured hand, "You're a good kid."

A smile forms on his lips and I must say that I am rather proud of him. He didn't tell me that something had happened on the ship, he sure didn't tell me that he had a confrontation with one of the Islanders but the moment he saw the man, he stood up and apologized for his actions without being told to do so.

The man might not have said anything but he appreciated the gesture and it allowed him to apologize himself for his own actions and in the end all is good. What Ginoza did though, it showed a very important side of him. Even if he is a royal prince, he's not afraid to do the right thing. He's not afraid to admit when he's done something wrong and for that, I truly admire him for it.

Ginoza quickly run his fingers through his hair to arrange it back before standing up when his face suddenly grew blank as he grasp at his chest.

"Ginoza are you alright?" I ask catching the Islander's attention in the progress.

"What's wrong?" The man asks as he gets up.

"I… I… I can't breathe…" Ginoza says as he gasps for air and blood starts dripping down his nose quite furiously and suddenly he falls limp onto the floor.

"Ginoza!" I call out as I bolt to my feet and rush to Ginoza's side in all haste.

I don't understand what's happening; he was fine only a minute ago. He was fine but now he's barely conscious and I'm not even sure if he can understand a single word that I'm saying as blood continues rushing out of his nose as his eyes keep rolling into the back of his head and his body starts shaking violently.

"What did he take?" The Islander asks, "Was he given anything!?"

"The maester gave him Essence of Night Shade to help him get some rest but just a single drop." I quickly answer as I feel my stomach church and drop down to my gut.

These symptoms, everything that I'm seeing right now is exactly what I saw many years ago when I was still just a child and some of my friends and my mother had accidentally consumed Essence of Night Shade. I'm not exactly sure how it had happened but I had never seen anything so horrific and in a matter of minutes, my mother died in my arms and there was nothing I could have done to save her life.

"Drink this!" I hear the Islander say as he presses a vial with clear liquid to Ginoza's lips. "Trust me! You have to!" He further urges Ginoza to drink but I don't think he can even understand us at this point.

The Islander doesn't waste any time and forces the liquid into Ginoza's mouth and succeeds in getting Ginoza to swallow the liquid and after a few minutes, his body stops shaking and his eyes return back to normal before they closed tiredly and Ginoza remains motionless in my arms but he's breathing now.

"I've never seen a human react so violently to Essence of Night Shade, never." I tell the Islander.

I've seen humans consume Essence of Night Shade so many times. I've seen some use very little and some even to the point of abusing the substance and not once have I ever seen a human be intoxicated by it. I promised to keep Ginoza safe, I promised that I would take care of him and I failed. I failed him…


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Ginoza**

Drunken laughter is all that I can hear and yet they all sound so far away like a distant echo resonating in my head and yet I can't see to whom they belong to. I know the voices though, I know them very well but how can it be that I can still hear them when I know that they are dead? Why am I still wandering on the docks of Emerald Harbor when I should be in Octavia?

Does it really matter?

Nothing seems to be making any sense anymore so all of this just seems fitting…

Howling screams gradually mix in with the drunken laughters as the Harbor suddenly gets engulfed in a raging inferno. The flames quickly spread all over the dock as they release their scorching heat all around and before I can flee, I'm completely surrounded by the flames as the screams and laughters start to become louder and louder until I see a severed head roll on the ground towards my feet. His eyes wide open staring blankly at me with his mouth slightly opened.

I suddenly jolt backwards only to hit something as I do so causing me to quickly turn around only to find the man who had tried to rape me back on the dock with his stomach cut open and his internal organs gushing out as he slowly steps closer towards me with white eyes and I back away.

The fire rages on as it consumes the harbor in its red flames and the screams keeps on intensifying as more and more bodies of dead people start walking towards me until I'm completely surrounded by them and I can't escape no matter where I look and then just as one was going to reach for my neck everything suddenly goes dark and the next thing that I see is a red canopy above me.

I quickly sit up as I reach for my neck as if checking to make sure it's still there. My heart is beating fast and my breath short to the point that it's rather hard to breathe as sweat rolls down my brow and I try to catch my breath and ignore the unbearable heat. I feel as if my body is overheating to the point that I'm feeling nauseous.

"It's alright." I hear Kougami say and just as the voice came, he sits down on the bed next to me. "You were having a bad dream." He adds as he quickly wipes away the sweat on my forehead with his hands.

"I feel weak…" I mutter through dry mouth as I try to catch my breath with little success.

To be honest I feel like I just ran for miles none stop and that during my run I was deprived of water. My mouth and my throat feel so dry which I know doesn't help for my light headiness or the ever growing nausea but little by little, I feel my heart beat starting to drop which is good.

"Maester Rodrigue said that you'd feel that way for a few days but other than that, you should be fine." Kougami tells me as he gently pushes me back down and I allow myself to sink back into the soft mattress, unable to protest even if I wanted to.

I feel like all the energy has been zapped from my body and I'm running on empty. It's taking everything that I have just to stay awake; all I want to do is sleep… I want more than just sleep… Sometimes I wish I could just fall asleep and never wake up…

"What happened?" I ask as the door suddenly swings wide open causing me to slightly jump at the sudden noise and the giant Dormer enters with his large blade in his hand as if ready to fight as he entered the room.

"He was just having a nightmare." Kougami tells him and Dormer just silently nods as he puts his large sword back into its sheath.

"I'll be outside if you need me little bird." Dormer tells me before stepping out of the room and gently closes the door behind him.

What happened to me…?

The last thing that I remember, I was in the mess hall with Kougami. Maester Rodrigue gave me Essence of Night Shade to help me sleep after Kougami suggested that I needed it and then I saw Murray enter the mess hall. I went to him, apologized for what I did to him and tended to his injury that I had caused back on the Dread. He then told me a creepy riddle and after that, I don't remember.

I do recall this room, even though I've only entered in it once since I arrived in Octavia. I know that I've been brought back to my designated chambers in the tower of Joy. The red canopy and all the colour red in here still makes me nauseous. It just reminds me of blood, it feels like I'm sleeping in sheets of blood and I know it sounds stupid and it's all in my head but I've never been very fond of the colour red…

I look away from Kougami and turn my gaze onto my bedroom window. It looks like it's early morning and from the light, the sun hasn't been up for very long either… The last I remember before everything went blank; it was late in the afternoon. Supper had not been served yet so if it's already morning, what happened to me?

"What happened?" I ask again as I return my gaze back onto Kougami.

"You had a violent reaction to the Essence of Night Shade." Kougami tells me as he sweeps my sweat soaked hair away from my face as he continues, "Murray's quick thinking saved your life."

I had a severe reaction to Essence of Night Shade?

No, that's impossible; no one ever has a bad reaction to it. That's why everyone uses it to begin with, because it's safe. I even read and maester Aemon confirmed it that maesters give babies Essence of Night Shade to help them sleep when they start teething so if it's safe for babies then it's more than safe for anyone. After all, babies are fragile.

Everyone that I know uses Essence of Night Shade here and there, everyone other than my father. He's the only one who refuses to use it.

"That's impossible Kougami, no humans has ever had a reaction to Essence of Night Shade. It's unheard of." I quickly state.

"Maester Rodrigue feels terrible for giving it to you." Kougami replies back. "Thank god that you only drank half of that cup." He adds.

Drank half or drank it all, what matters does it make when it's not toxic to humans and besides it's not like I had the regular dosage anyway. Maester Rodrigue only gave me a single drop. Yes it tasted awful but it was so diluted that there is no way that I reacted to it.

"Kougami, it can't be what the Maester gave me that did this." I voice out as I explain my reasoning, "Essence of Night Shade is safe for all humans, young and old alike. It's not toxic in any way to humans."

Essence of Night Shade is one of the many remedies that we humans use for multi purposes depending on the symptoms that we may have. Essence of Night Shade is a refined substance created from a combination of four different plants and a matter of fact all of those four plants are actually safe for humans too.

"That's true but…" Kougami starts saying but stops as if he's searching for what word to use.

"But what?" I ask as I try to get his gaze but I can't get an eye contact from him, his eyes keep on wandering.

"You're not human." He says after a bit of hesitation as if he wasn't really sure how to say it but he's not making any sense. I'm human; I'm not some creature or any of the sorts. I'm human just like all of my ancestors before me, just like my father.

"I'm human." I state.

"Ginoza, your father is a human but your mother was not." Kougami tells me. "Maester Rodrigue didn't know about your mother, even I didn't know but it's okay. You have both human blood and Merblood flowing through your veins." He further tells me but that can't be true.

My mother was a noble lady…

She was…

She was from…

Her family was…

I don't know anything about my mother…

"Murray knew…?" I mutter the question.

"No, he didn't know." Kougami answers and further explains, "I told him you took Essence of Night Shade after he asked me if you had been given something. He later told me that it's a custom for Islander sailors and soldiers to carry Tears of Lys with them at all times in case they ever need it to save Merpeople's lives from intoxications."

Tears of Lys… I've heard of it but I don't know anything about it but apparently it's not something that can be done so freely and the ingredients needed to make it can only be found in specific areas and specific conditions but I didn't know that the Islanders carried it at all times… They really do look out for Merpeople don't they…?

It's true that I don't know anything about my mother. I don't know which house she was from or where she lived, I don't know if she had any siblings or if her own parents are still alive. Actually I barely remember how she even looked like but all of this has to be a mistake. My mother can't be a… No she can't be…

"I know it's something that's circling in your mind right now but I never met your mother." Kougami tells me and of course it's something that's going through my mind right now. He's saying that my mother wasn't human, that she was a… "I only know her in name; to be honest I don't even know how she looked like. I just know that her name was Sae and that she was Poseidon's eldest daughter." He further tells me and I don't even know who Poseidon even is.

"Why did she leave?" I ask and I'm not even sure why I even asked him that because I can't bring myself to believe that my mother wasn't human because if she really wasn't then what am I? A freak of nature that shouldn't exist…?

"I don't know. I wasn't even aware that Poseidon's eldest daughter had abandoned the ocean until now." Kougami quickly replies as he strokes my hair and continues, "But don't worry, the commander will get the answers to all of this for you. Even he wasn't aware about your mother's true nature but it didn't surprise him."

"I guess nobody knew…" I mutter a reply, too tired to try to argue. I don't think I could get up and walk right now even if I wanted to. I feel so weak and tired and all of this isn't helping me at all…

"Your father and I'm assuming your maester Aemon must know also." Kougami assumes and it would only make sense. Maester Aemon knows everything about my father and he's the one who wedded my parents in the grand citadel so he must know something. "I don't blame them for keeping it a secret." He adds.

"Don't blame them!? They-"

"Ginoza, your mother was murdered. She became suddenly ill; it looked like an illness and before the maester realized what really happened it was too late." Kougami quickly cuts me off and explains his reasoning.

I always knew deep down that my mother's death was odd, that it wasn't just some natural illness that caught her. No matter how you looked at it, it just didn't make any sense.

I never got to see my mother while she was sick because of the council, everyone basically feared that whatever she had was contagious so they kept me away. After she died, I wasn't able to see her body nor was I able to attend her funeral either. Actually, it was my father who forbade me from attending my mother's funeral but if all of this is true and my mother was in fact poisoned, maybe the poison altered her appearance. Maybe she wasn't a pretty sight but still, I had the right to know. I had the right to know who my mother was…

"They still had no rights to keep that a secret from me." I voice out as I look up to the red canopy and I wish I could just tear it down. I hate this colour, I hate it!

"Ginoza you're alive." Kougami states the rather obvious like it's supposed to make me feel any better because it doesn't.

"So?" I say numbly.

"You're the son of Poseidon's eldest daughter. Yes, he has a bunch of granddaughters but you're his only living grandson. Actually you're his only grandson." Kougami tells me and I just don't know who Poseidon even is. Okay, supposedly my mother was his eldest daughter and that I apparently have cousins that are all girls but that still doesn't tell me who he is or anything. "Let's just say that things just got a lot more complicated, things have changed and I'm starting to see the bigger picture of what's happening." He adds.

Things have changed? Exactly how things have changed exactly? That now everyone knows that I'm a freak of nature that shouldn't exist? If I'm not really human then yes it kind of changes things but I don't see how it makes things more complicated unless Poseidon is someone of great importance to the Merpeople in some way…

I really don't know anything about what goes on down there… Why couldn't I have been born a commoner instead of a prince? Life would have been so much simpler…

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 13.5**

 **Sugo**

Now that sure was a good welcome home greeting. I didn't get the chance to be in port for more than an hour and I was already thrown with a problem. Well Murray took care of it so it wasn't really much of a problem at that point when I was alerted to the situation but thanks to all of this sudden fiasco my suspicions have been proven to be correct and that's rather a problem depending how you look at it.

The queen had always been a topic of mysteries; no one knew where she came from. All assumed that she was the daughter of some mighty king from a foreign country and no one batted an eye about it since she was so beautiful and kind to the common people because apparently that's all you have to be in order to be a successful queen. All you have to do is smile, be pretty and do some charity work towards the common people and you're all set.

Anyway, I on the other hand, I didn't buy into that so called gossip about her origins, especially after I saw the woman a few times when I was young in person. Just by looking at her, there was no way that she was just a meer human but I knew better than to say anything since it could have caused some problems and besides, the queen was genuinely a good person. She really wanted to do good to the people; she had her heart in the right place.

The prince sure gets his appearance from his mother that's for sure. He's got her eyes, those vibrant green eyes are exactly the same as his mother and he also inherited her raven hair and skin tone right to the mark. Everything from his face shape right to his cheek bones, it's all his mother. Everything is all her except for the shape of his eyes. Now that's his father, at least there's that but other than that, the prince is a spitting image of his mother through and through.

Sae was indeed a very beautiful woman but she was more than just a pretty face. She was intelligent, shrewd and politically a savvy young woman. She knew how to play politics quite well and she knew exactly what do to in order to get the common people to adore her husband the king but only a fool wouldn't notice that there was no way that she was human. Her fair appearance just screamed mermaid but then again not everyone knows that Merpeople can ditch their tails to walk on land as they wish. Of course they have some limitations and they must return to the sea after a certain amount of time but other than that, they are just like us but better in every way.

Anyway, the prince was lucky that Murray was in fact there in the mess hall with him because without the Tears of Lys, the prince surely would have died within minutes. However, although it was quite sad about the accidental intoxications, I must say that I'm quite satisfied with Murray's actions. He could have allowed the prince to die and do nothing all the while watch the boy suffocate and bleed to death but he didn't. That's devotion and trustworthy without a doubt. Murray truly has proven himself yesterday and redeemed himself for his blunder back on the ship.

Due to the intoxications that the prince has experienced, he lost a fair amount of blood but maester Rodrigue says that he'll be fine after a few days of rest but the old maester blames himself for his mistake. He constantly keeps apologizing to me for it but what could I expect? The man didn't know. After all, how could he? He's been on this island ever since the Islanders were exiled to remain onto their islands. Maester Rodrigue has been here for over fifty years, he didn't see the queen, he didn't witness the wedding nor did he ever see the prince until yesterday morning.

"Have you ever heard of a hybrid between a human and a mermaid?" I hear Flint ask from the back of the mess hall. By the way he keeps on gossiping, you'd think that he's an old woman or something. He never knows when to put something to rest…

"Does it matter?" Kane asks without much interest in his tone as he continues eating his breakfast.

"Actually it does because this mermaid was not a small fish. We're talking about the remnant of a killer whale here with a megalodon on our ass if we fuck up." Flint voices out and I just want to cringe at his statement.

Comparing Merpeople to common fishes is just plain insulting. Merpeople are beings just like us humans. They are not brainless like a bunch of fishes that swims throughout the sea. Even more, he compares one of the mightiest of the Merpeople to a killer whale and her father, the king of the ocean and one who is even greater than his daughter to a megalodon. Now that's more than insulting, especially since megalodons are just mindless killing machines that have long since been extinct.

"If we do fuck up, we could be seeing the rest of our islands get swallowed up." Flint adds and I have to control my urge to get up and give him a good wack behind the head but I'm really not in the mood to get into this right now.

Poseidon is indeed the king that rules under the vast oceans but he wasn't the one who destroyed the great city of Atlantica. He doesn't control the waves, the wind or the rain. It wasn't his fault that Atlantica was simply just a floating city and not an actual island.

Atlantica was a city bound for a tragedy to happen and it did. Our capital city got swallowed up by the ocean within minutes because it was poorly built. It was in the perfect location to get submerged by the sea. The only reason why Atlantica remained the capital city for the Islanders was because it was the first city ever made. Atlantica started the Islanders, it was the first city within the Stone Islands but other than that, it was completely useless.

The only thing that Poseidon does is rule under the ocean. He's the one who dictates the laws that his people must follow and that is all. He's not a vicious creature and I'm sure that he must be quite saddened at the death of his eldest daughter and that's not even knowing if he's even aware that his grandson lives.

"What do you suggest? That we abandon our duty!?" Kane asks Flint calmly.

I've been the liege lord of the Stone Islands for the last seven years and I can't recall hearing Kane raise his voice once. He always remains calm and diplomatic. Sometimes I seriously wonder where he came from, he surely does not match the rest of this lot but it keeps things interesting to say the least.

"You're free to go piss your ass back into your chambers at any given moment Flint." Murray voices out and I second that.

We are Islanders and everyone learns this one fact at a very young age. That the first Islanders were Merpeople who couldn't return to the ocean ever again because they disobeyed their king's law. Because they disobeyed and failed to return to the ocean before a specific amount of time, they were exiled to continue living their lives as humans but they loved the ocean still so they occupied the islands and the Islanders came to be.

"Pardon me my lord." Maester Rodrigue takes me out of my thoughts. "You've been summoned to the Tearling to answer for your actions to deport from Octavia with the Galleon Dread and for your sightings at Emerald Harbor as it went up in flames and did nothing." He tells me as he gives me the piece of parchment and I quickly read what it says.

It's exactly as the maester told me. I'm being summoned to Court to answer for my actions and the actions of my bannermen and as to why we set sailed with a warship like the Dread without authorization of the crown and for the accusation of attacking Emerald Harbor and engulfed it in flames and left it to burn. I am to arrive within the fortnight or be branded an enemy of the crown and a traitor to the realm.

In the name of Tomomi Masaoka, the first of his name, king of Ilindor and protector of the realm, if proven guilty of the charges pressed against me, I and all those who shared in my crimes will be stripped of all ranks and titles, of all lands and holding, and will be sentenced to death.

"Sure didn't waste their time to report my arrival back to the city did they." I voice out as I discard the parchment onto the table.

I knew those that we came across on the sea before arriving to Octavia would have reported our sightings to the king. Actually I knew beforehand that I would have a run in with one of the king's navy ships which is why I had to get the prince off my ship in the first place. I couldn't allow anyone to know that I had the prince in my grasp when I still don't know exactly who the enemies of the crown are.

"This is a royal command, my Lord. If you should refuse to obey-"

"I won't refuse. If his Grace summons me to go to the Tearling, I'll go to the Tearling." I quickly state and the mess hall grows quiet as I feel all eyes fall upon me.

"I'll go with you my lord." Kane offers without any hesitations as he stands up. Clearly determined to serve me all the way to the very end and it's one of the reason why I like the guy. His loyalty comes for free but there's not an amount of gold in the world that could ever replace him. He's truly a trusted comrade and friend, I'm truly grateful of having such an individual on my side.

"I need you to remain here Kane. While I'll be gone, I'll be leaving you in charge of managing things here until I return." I respectfully decline his offer.

It sure would have been good to have him with me during this voyage but I need him here the most. While I'll be gone I need someone who will be able to take my place and to properly manage all of the islands affairs accordingly and I see no one who could do that better than Kane. I need him here more than I need him with me.

"As you wish my lord." He responds as he gives me a small bow and retakes his seat.

"I won't be going alone though; I'll go to the Tearling with the Skeleton crew." I state. Considering what I've been charged with, it sure wouldn't be wise to go to court with a huge host at my command and using the Dread sure wouldn't be a good idea either. Which is a real shame because I actually love that ship, not because it's a massive one that can endure pretty much anything the elements throw at it but because it was the first thing that was ever given to me by the Islanders. It was a token of appreciation from my people. It means a lot and I have great pride in that ship.

A skeleton crew of twenty men will suffice to sail a simple ship to the capital. It's not far so we'll be fine but if I would allow my men to have their way, there would be no way I would be allowed go to the capital with only a skeleton crew. They would gladly lose their lives for me if need be, that's why I trust them and that's why I also have no worries when I'll be away. The prince will be well taken cared of.

"Call the banners." I order the maester and the mess hall goes dead quiet once again.

"All of them, my lord?" He asks rather cautiously.

"They've all sworn to rise up for their liege lord when the occasion would call for it, have they not?" I ask in return and I feel the air in the mess hall grow denser.

"They have." The maester admits.

"Now we'll see what words are worth." I state and maester Rodrigue gives me a small bow before walking away.

Summoning the banners to Octavia isn't a simple feat. The Islands are not exactly near each other so it will take some time for all of them to assemble which is why I'm summoning them now while I'll be away to the capital. If I wait later, once I've returned, I might actually come to regret it. Octavia needs to be fully armed and fully prepared for any future attack and I know they will come. It will only be a matter of time and I have no intentions of being caught by surprise and unprepared.

I get up and my men quickly rise to their feet, giving me a small bow as I walk down the mess hall and exit the room and they resume what they were doing as I walk away into the empty hall.

I didn't have to say anything; they knew exactly what it meant. They know what is coming and I wish I was as confident as I sounded back there but I've gone too far to back down now. Like they say, once the cow's been milked, there's no squirting the cream back up her udders, so here we are to see things through.

A war is only a matter of time, only a fool would think otherwise. I'll have to make my decisions very wisely or I'll lose my head and my people will suffer for it. The men on the other hand have been itching for a good fight and they'll have it but I won't make the same mistake as the old lords did. I won't be taking the fight to my enemies. If they want to fight, I'll have them come directly to me here and we'll bury them into the ocean. We are Islanders after all. Our strength lies with our ships but our strengths also lies with the usage of our islands and I plan on using everything that I have at my disposal.

The peacefulness that fills this castle and the sight of my people carrying on with their everyday life down below only serves to remind me exactly what I have to protect. There are no rooms for errors, especially not on my part. If I fail, my men will die, my people will die, we will die. Everything that has stood for hundreds of years will crumble into rubles in a matter of minutes and I just can't allow that to happen.

We haven't had a real fight in fifty years. Back-stabbing doesn't prepare you for a fight. And that's all the realm is now. Back-stabbing, scheming, ass-licking and money-grubbing, that's all this country has come to now.

When this country was founded, when house Masaoka were just king of the south and they started expanding their reign by conquering one land right after the other everything was different. They had one army, a real army united behind one leader with one purpose. Their purpose died once all the lands were unified into a single kingdom…

Now, we've got as many armies as there are men with gold in their purses and everyone wants something different and yet they all want the same thing. Power, that's what they all want in the end and it's come to a point that it's hard to know who is really on your side and who is not.

Peaceful times sure as hell doesn't prepare you for war, actually it cripples men. The thing is that young men are not used to seeing blood, to seeing their friends and comrades die in front of them. Many can't handle the pressure… Hell, I've been commander in the navy for the past eight years, and liege lord of the Stone Islands for the past seven years. I've had my share of small battles here and there but I've never fought in an actual war before.

War is much different than a single conflict. The thing is that with a single conflict, once you've won the battle the confrontation is over. You've won and it's done but that's not how a war works. You can win every battle but it doesn't mean that you'll win the war in the end. One wrong move, one small mistake will be enough to cost everything and it will be my people who will suffer if I lose. If I lose, the Islanders won't be exiled again. If I lose, every single one of my people will be executed and an entire legacy will be destroyed and I just can't allow that to happen.

Anyway, I can't allow my worries to show. I'm the one that my men will look at for confidence and if I'm shaking well that won't do much good and there's also the prince to think of. If I allow myself to show weakness then he will show his own weakness and for his sake he mustn't. He needs to be strong and I know that he will look to me for strength and I can't fail him.

I observe the maids as they carry out their morning work. All of them are all focused on their task at hand as they pay little attention to me as I continue walking down the hall for a bit until I climb a stone staircase into one of the castle towers leading up to an empty sitting area when I see Dormer standing next to a closed door at the far end. I should have known that I would have found him here even though I didn't tell him to do so.

Apparently he was really dead serious into becoming the prince's personal guard. At least that's somewhat comforting to know that from now on the prince will have a worthy soldier by his side but that also means that I'm losing one of my best fighter.

I continue walking and enter the room without saying a word as I quietly enter and shut the door behind me to find the prince awake, lying in bed with the merman Kougami sitting on his bed right next to him.

"How are you feeling your grace?" I ask as I step closer towards the bed. He seems rather pale and somewhat tired but other than that, he looks to be doing okay. I know he'll be fine. Can't say that I'm surprised to see that Kougami is in here with the prince but considering how mermans are, I would prefer that he would remain outside of his grace's chambers.

"Tired…" The prince answers.

"I'm going to need you to write to your father, to let him know that you are safe and well." I tell the prince as I grab a writing pad, paper and a quill that were lying on the desk in the far corner of the room.

"He nearly died, I think writing a letter can wait." Kougami quickly objects. Of course he does but he's not the liege lord of this castle, I am and he better learn his place. He may be one of the Merpeople but I won't have him object to my demands.

"I'm afraid that it can't wait." I respond as I move closer to the prince still lying in bed. "I've been summoned to Court by your father. My actions to set out in search for you your grace were not pre-approved and my ship was spotted near Emerald Harbor as it went up in flame." I explain.

"You're being summoned to answer for war crimes?" The prince asks, his eyes glued onto me and if I didn't know any better I would say that I just scared him a little.

"Something like that." I admit but the summon itself isn't really something that bothers me. It's not like I didn't see it coming from a mile away. Actually I was planning on it and it came on much sooner than expected but I wouldn't have it any other way. "Being summoned to the capital wasn't unexpected, actually I was counting on it and now it's time for you to play your part." I add as I hand over the writing pad and the prince takes it and lays it on his lap.

Kougami is eyeing me like I just asked the most demanding thing ever from his grace but he didn't bother to stand up and remained seated on the bed next to the prince so that's definitely something I'll have to see to later.

I do admit that yes the prince is tired and weak from all of that blood lost but it's not like I'm asking him to do physical labor. He's more than capable of writing to his father and without a single word he starts writing and all you can hear in the room is the sound of the quill on paper. I don't know what the prince will write to his father and quite frankly it's none of my business but I have faith he will do the right thing.

"I will be gone for a month, maybe more but I'm leaving Kane in charge until I return. Dormer and Murray will be staying here also so you'll be safe." I state and the prince stops writing when a flock of ravens fly off on all sides.

"Ravens… So many… Where are they going?" He asks as he stares outside until all of the ravens have flown off.

"I'm calling all of my banners to assemble in Octavia. A war is coming your grace and I will not wait until I'm attacked first in order to act and I sure won't wait until I return to assemble them." I tell him and continue, "I have everything under control. No need to over think things or worry. Octavia is the mightiest Island that the Stone Islands possess. We can withstand a Siege for a very long time; anyone who dares attack us will run low on supplies way before we do."

"Has this place ever been sacked?" He asks.

"No your grace. Octavia is the largest island that we have and it's surrounded by tall mountain rock like walls with only one way in. You can't climb over it and if we decide that nothing gets in, then nothing gets in." I answer but I know that's not exactly what worries him. Yes the island being attacked and possibly sacked is worrisome but he's worried if I don't return. What will happen if the Islanders were to suddenly lose their liege lord and they suddenly fall without a leader. That's what scares him and for that, I understand but death won't be today or in the upcoming weeks.

"What if they do get in?" He further asks.

"We'll throw them back into the sea your grace." I answer calmly. "The Island itself is protected by a large wall and from that wall to the island we have a vast bay of water but the city is also protected by its own massive walls and if you go explore once you are feeling better your grace, you'll see that you can't use ladders or use proper siege weapons to get pass the wall." I add.

When you lay a city under siege, you can't just do it with men. You need siege weapons and a vast army in order to conquer the city. The thing is that you can't easily carry siege weapons on a ship, you can but in order to do so you need a massive naval fleet and a very big army. Basically the enemy would need a armada sized fleet in order to carry soldiers, siege equipment, weapons and supplies in order to win and that's where we have the advantage.

"Don't worry, the good commander knows what he's doing. Leave the thinking and strategizing to him, you'll be fine." Kougami adds to my defense which is surprising or he simply passed his quick faze but now is not the time to ponder on it.

"Kougami is right; I know how to hold my own keep and so does Kane. Dormer won't be leaving your side and Murray won't be too far away either." I say and add, "This Island can withstand a five year long siege without a single problem; we can grow our own food here to support the citizens and the soldiers."

That's our massive advantage on this island and it's the main reason why I named this island our new capital city. It's massive and even so, the population is small which makes the island just perfect for war. We can harvest food and considering how much we can produce here, I'm sure we can out last more than five years easily.

Anyway, I've called forth the banners and they'll leave enough men to protect the other islands and the rest will come here. Only a fool would attack the Stone Islands, no one attacks us on our home turf and lives to tell a soul about it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Kougami**

The commander has been summoned by the king to answer for crimes that he has been accused of that he did not commit which is really serious and quite frankly I'm not even certain that he's even worried about it. He didn't even bother to read what Ginoza wrote to his father before sealing the letter which is rather careless on his part. He has no idea if what Ginoza wrote will actually cost him his head, after all it's no secret that the young prince is rather naive and he could have made some mistakes in his letter to his father.

"If Ginoza would be well right now, you know he'd follow you to the capital to speak to his father on your behalf." I tell him as I watch him put on that thick black cloak over his shoulders. It sure as hell looks heavy with all that black fur that rests on his shoulders and the black fabric seems heavy too.

Seriously he could have worn something a bit better; after all he's going to meet the king, Ginoza's father of all people. Yes he's clean and his clothing isn't tattered and all but seriously, he looks like a damn barbarian dressed up like that. Actually he looks like a fancy barbarian since all of his clothes are in perfect condition but still. Couldn't have hurt to dress in a classier way after all, he is the liege lord of the Stone Islands and he should at least look the part when presenting himself to the king.

"I'm aware." He replies as he fastens his sheathed blade onto his belt around his waist without any care in the world and right now I'm not even sure why he asked me to accompany him down to the mess hall to begin with since he hasn't looked at me once.

"You owe Ginoza some answers so make sure to come back alive." I further tell him and for Ginoza's sake, he needs to come back. He just has to and hopefully in one piece.

"Do you take me for a fool?" He asks after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"What?" I ask in turn as he suddenly grabs a fistful of my hair in the back of my head.

"Do you think I don't see you looking at my prince?" He asks in a low tone, his face close to mine, "Do you think that I don't know what you want?"

"I must admit, he's rather easy on the eyes." I admit but it was probably not exactly the smartest thing I could have said in my predicament but it just came out but at least I'm being honest.

Ginoza is indeed really easy on the eyes, he's beautiful there's no denying that and I'm not ashamed of admitting it either. I'll even admit it in front of the king if I have to, I'm attracted to Ginoza, what can I say.

"You think you're so funny don't you? Just because you have the prince's good grace on your side that it somehow protects you. Well let me tell you something, I don't serve you. I do have respect for your people and for that, I'll let you keep your head but don't give me a reason to remove it. I won't hesitate to chop it off." He warns me in that same low tone, never distancing his face from mine to the point that I can feel his breath against my skin.

I must say that I admire his determination to keep order as he sees fit but seriously if he thinks that he can execute me and his people will rally up behind him, well he's sadly mistaken. If he decides to kill me, his days as liege lord of the Stone Islands will be numbered that's for sure.

"You'll lose faith with your people if you do that." I tell him as I glance towards him to catch his eyes and continue, "You're not a true born Islander. How long do you think they'll follow you once you chop the head off a merman?"

"I may not be a true born Islander but don't go thinking that's what saves you here." He quickly responds and adds, "I don't have to exactly chop off your head in order to destroy you."

Humans, every time that they can't kill someone they always target a man's parts. Turning their fellow men into eunuchs is quite common and rather a shame really. It's quite distasteful but I won't deny that some men do deserve it though but I'm not one of those men.

"Now that would be cruel. I'm quite close to my parts, especially now since they are so out in the open." I reply back to his threat much to his annoyance.

If he truly believes that I will allow him to intimidate me when I've done nothing wrong, he's sadly mistaken. Yes I won't deny that I can't help but stare at Ginoza, he's a beautiful young man. Who wouldn't rinse their eyes of his beauty whenever they can? I can easily assure him that I'm not the only one and quite frankly, I can't blame anyone who does. Ginoza is really hard to ignore.

"Then if you wish to keep them, I suggest you stay away from the prince's bed in the future." He tells me and now I understand. The dear Stone Commander is angry that I was alone with Ginoza in his bed chambers earlier and quite frankly why shouldn't I? I have every right to be by his side if I intend to serve him at the best of my abilities and quite frankly I do intend to serve him fully. "If I hear that you entered the prince's bed while I'm away and believe me I will find out if you do, there will be nothing you can do to stop me." He adds rather coldly.

Here's another who plans on sheltering the young prince but the commander is a fool if he believes that he can keep Ginoza sheltered forever. True that I don't plan on entering Ginoza's bed, I don't plan on trying to manipulate him into doing so because I genuinely care for him and I don't want to hurt him or further confuse him than what he already is but I won't reject any advances that he might do towards me because it will only be a natural thing.

"You can't control what Ginoza wants." I say and I feel the commander's grip on my hair tighten.

"I knew in advance about how Merpeople can turn into humans so what makes you think that I don't know more?" He asks and I have to admit that it did surprise me that he did know that but should I really be that surprised? The commander seems like the kind of man who does his research to the mark so it would only be natural that he would know about us so much. "Only mermans prowl around seducing those they find appealing to them. It's a sport to you but you won't sully my prince. Do I make myself clear?" He further tells me.

"There's nothing wrong with having a go, commander." I state.

Maybe we are tolerant beings but we do not shun bastards because bastards are born out of passion. To us, love has no boundaries. If two individual consent, it doesn't matter age or gender. If two individuals love each other than why can it be wrong? Love is the most beautiful thing in this world. Love is pure and I intend to love Ginoza will all my heart.

"This is the Stone Islands. We have laws. Laws that existed way before I became liege lord and the Islanders follow them by the letter, we live by them and I intent to enforce every single one and lying in bed with another out of wedlock is against the law. Actually it stands against the Islanders' morals." He tells me and continues, "Touch the prince in any way inappropriate and I assure you, it won't be me that you'll have to fear."

"Those are not my laws, commander." I blurt out only to receive a slap behind the head once he released his grip of my hair.

Okay, maybe that was kind of rude on my part. They may not be the laws of my people but I am now in the world of humans and I guess it is expected of me to follow their laws especially since the commander basically welcomed me into his castle. I owe him the respect.

"No they're not but you will follow them none the less as long as you are on this island because you will respect the people who live here." He tells me and yeah I kind of agree and I guess that he is right. "You may be nearing five hundred years of age and your wisdom to us humans can be very valuable but to the eyes of your elders, you're nothing more than a lustful child that's entered the problematic adolescence stage." He adds and I grin at that statement. He really does know about us, he knows a fair amount too.

"Touché." I reply.

"Your elders will do whatever they can to protect their young ones and as an adult myself; I'll be doing the same so keep your hands and imagination off his grace." He tells me and again I can't argue with that. Our elders often lecture us to be more careful and to be more this and less this, it's to a point that it is quite annoying but they always have a point. I guess it's only natural that some humans would protect young ones too.

"I don't intend on hurting your prince, I would never do anything against his will and seducing him would rather be a waste of time on my part. I do like Ginoza and I'll be honest with you, I did try to seduce him before I knew who he was and it didn't work. I respect him and I didn't try again after he denied me, he's more capable than what you may think." I say and I receive a sharp glare from the commander but he doesn't try to hit me again much to my relief.

I don't see any point of lying or try to hide anything. After all, he knows what I am, he knows what my nature is so there's really no point in trying to deny or hide any of that. I admit that the males of my species are guilty for seducing humans and I'm guilty for doing it a few times actually but if someone tells me no, I don't push. Yes I will be disappointed that it's over but I will respect their decision and if later they want me, if they decide that they'll have me then great. If not, well that's okay too.

"He needs friends to help him grow to become the king that he's born to be, not to further corrupt him." The commander states as he grabs the gloves on a table and puts them on.

"In order to become the king that he's born to be, he needs to face certain corruptions otherwise he'll never grow." I tell him and that's the truth. If someone is never exposed to corruption, they will never grow because they won't feel like they need to change and that's not good. "He'll remain naive and innocent if everyone keeps sheltering him from what the world really is." I add.

"Bedding him won't fix the problem." The commander quickly replies before looking at me and adds, "I have a summon to attend to, you better heed my warning. You are not to enter the prince's bed."

With that he walks away from me, his head held high as he walks out of the mess hall like nothing happened.

The commander sure is something else, he's without a doubt confident and his heart is in the right place but he's also quite young. I just hope that he doesn't end up biting more than what he can chew. I really would hate to hear news that the commander is dead. Even if he is a rather hard man to read, I actually like him. He's interesting and I like the fact that he doesn't care who he needs to cut down in order to protect Ginoza, he will do it without a second thought.

I must say the thought about bedding Ginoza is quite a pleasant thought. I have tried to imagine how that would be like and how he would sound as his body would be filled with pleasure. I wonder if he would moan my name or if he would scream it or maybe he would be a silent type but he gives me the impression that he would be the type to let out soft moans with each thrust. It sure is a beautiful thought, maybe it will eventually become a reality one day.

I shake the thought of bedding Ginoza out of my head as I walk out of the mess hall and I quickly make my way back towards the tower of joy and I must say that the names of each tower in this castle are all odd. There are four towers in total, each of them are located on each corner of the castle and each bearing an odd name and apparently each one are different but I only know of one, the tower of joy.

Joy, sorrow, sun and moon are the four tall towers of the mighty castle of Octavia and the one that Ginoza occupies in full is the tower of joy. The tower itself consist of two separate bed chambers, one that Ginoza uses and the other one is mine. There's a bath chamber, a large living area and a grand balcony and apparently the three other towers are just as grand as the tower of joy.

I climb up the stone steps of the tower until I reach the top to see that the main door is open and I step into the large living area only to find the giant standing next to Ginoza's closed door. I know that I shouldn't be surprised to find him here but right now is not exactly the time to play guard duty.

"Are you going to be standing there all day?" I ask as I walk closer to the giant.

"Got a problem?" He asks back with an unfazed expression.

"No it's perfectly fine. Actually it's great to find someone so devoted to the prince but seriously who are you protecting him from?" I ask as I step even closer to the man and continue, "Everyone here are friends and allies am I correct or is there something that I should know?"

"Trust no one ocean lord and you'll never be surprised." He calmly answers, his expression never changing.

This giant, he has claimed his desire of being Ginoza's personal guard but I'm not exactly sure if he's the kind of person that Ginoza needs by his side. This man, he's ready to kill anytime anywhere with no questions asked and I'm not sure if that's good for Ginoza. This man is dangerous and considering how my dear prince hates to being watched, having a guard right outside of his bed chambers sure isn't something that he's too thrilled about. To say the least, if this giant wants to guard so much, he should do it at the bottom of the tower.

"That's a good philosophy in a sense but does that mean you don't trust your own prince?" I quickly inquire and yet his expression is never changing but I think a slap wouldn't have offended him more.

"I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't ocean lord." He calmly replies and I must say that it's the first time a human ever calls me ocean lord. It sounds rather strange and considering how hard this man seems, it's rather weird to hear it from him of all people.

"Good. I have a job for you and it is of great importance and since your loyalty to the prince is truly remarkable I can only trust you to carry it out." I state but I can't tell if he's somewhat interested in what I wish to propose to him or not. He just doesn't have much expressions on his face, well on his uninjured part that is.

"And what may that be?" He asks.

"I need names. Names of those that are faithful and loyal to the prince. I also need names of those to be wary about of all ranks. Names of soldiers, stewards, maids, stable boys, everyone basically who could come into direct contact with the prince." I quickly explain and ask, "Can you carry this job out for me discreetly?"

"It will be done ocean lord." He replies and walks away.

"Good. Rest assure, I won't let the prince out of my sight." I say back as he continues climbing down the stone steps without a word.

This man is truly odd, well in a way he does match with a few here. I must say that the Islanders that I've seen so far aren't exactly too similar to the humans that I once knew in Atlantica. The Islanders that I've seen here are much rougher and tougher. They lack this sophistication and grace that the Atlanticans had but the castle here is the real deal. They sure would have been rather proud of this grand castle that's for sure.

Ginoza will definitely be comfortable during his stay here. He will have a whole living area to himself and his future entourage that he will probably have in the near future will be easier to entertain in here if he chooses to have some that is. His bedroom is on one side of the living area while mine is on the other side o if he needs me I will be very close and the bath chamber is the room that separates both bed chambers so again he has everything that he needs in this tower.

He sure will be comfortable here indeed but enough admiring the stylish living area for now and I enter Ginoza's bed chambers only to find him sitting on the window's edge instead of lying in bed of which I would strongly prefer since right now, he's sitting in a rather dangerous location. What on earth is he even thinking? He could lose his balance and fall to his death.

"You should be in bed resting." I tell him, catching his attention in the process.

"I can't sleep…" He mutters but that's not really an excuse for being out of bed. He's surely in no shape to be walking around right now, he lost a lot of blood and needs to take it easy.

"And sitting on the window's edge is supposed to help?" I ask as I approach him cautiously as I hope that he won't try to do anything stupid.

"I hate this room…" He mutters and I honestly can't understand why he would hate this room.

It's quite a stylish room actually. He's got a rather large feather bed that seems rather comfortable with an high canopy, a really nice wooden desk with all sorts of things that he can use to entertain himself and not to mention that it is quite spacious too.

"This is where you'll be sleeping during your stay here." I tell him and add, "I find this room quite charming; I really don't see what's the problem."

"Everything is red…" He mutters back.

Is that it? He doesn't like this room because everything is red? Well to be honest not everything is red actually. Yes the blankets, canopy and the pillows are red with gold brocade but the furnitures in here are a rich golden oak and the walls are a dark silver stones so not everything is red like he says. To be honest, all this red and gold is quite romantic and sensual if you ask me.

"You don't like red?" I ask and continue, "Red is a very emotionally intense colour. It is the color of fire and blood; it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love."

"It reminds me of blood. That's why I don't like red and I've seen enough blood within the last few days. I really don't need to be reminded of that." Ginoza tells me and I understand what he experienced back at Emerald Harbor was not pleasant for him and I'm sure that he witnessed things that he probably wish that he never saw but he can't linger on it.

"Ginoza, you're going to see a lot more blood before all of this settles so you better start getting used to it." I tell him.

"You say it like it's so easy." He replies as he climbs down the window's edge, "But it's not and I don't think I can-"

"Ginoza! Are you okay?" I ask as I catch him in my arms before he could fall on the floor when he lost his balance and from his facial expression, he seems rather lightheaded right now. "You should be resting; you're not strong enough to be walking around." I state as I lift him up in my arms and bring him back to bed, carefully laying him down.

"I'm not strong for anything…" He mutters as I lay a silk sheet over his weak form.

"Don't say that, you'll get better soon. You'll see." I tell him as I lay another sheet over him.

"I've always been prone to sickness" Ginoza informs me as he looks at me with sickly eyes and continues, "I'm always sick and I guess if it hadn't been for my title, I probably would have died a long time ago…"

The fact that Ginoza is prone to sickness isn't something that surprises me. Actually I already figured that he must have been since he's been so sheltered all of his life. His body is not used to being exposed to so many people and being to new locations. It's only normal that Ginoza would be sick often but his body will get stronger. That I know, he's a fighter even if he doesn't want to admit it.

"You're prone to sickness because you've been isolated for so long. Your body is weak to anything that it comes in contact with but trust me, when I'm done with you. You will have health of steel." I tell him as I sit down on the bed next to him.

"My mother used to take me walking every day in the busy streets of the capital and I was always sick…" He says. "My parents were always happy with each other except for when they argued because of me. My father didn't want me around the common people anymore because of my poor health while my mother stated that it was good for me. They never saw eye to eye about what was best for me." He further says and that's kind of sad.

I can understand why Ginoza is so hard on himself, why he becomes depressed easily. It all goes back to when he was a child. Since his parents often argued about his well-being, he must feel like he caused a strain between his mother and father but all of that was not his fault.

"So after your mother died, there was nothing to stop your father from isolating you from the outside world." I say and Ginoza slightly nods.

"Something like that…" He admits.

"Your father did what he thought was best for you. He wanted to protect you and the only way he knew how to do that was to isolate you completely but in doing that he crippled you. He suffocated you so much that you know nothing." I state and that's pretty much what happened.

Ginoza's father didn't do what he did in order to cause his son harm. He genuinely did what he believed was best for his child at the time and he still does. His child's safety is the most important thing of all but unintentionally, he's tearing his son apart.

"Kougami, I can't do this. I don't have what it takes to be king. I can't do it." Ginoza says after a few minutes of silence, taking me out of my thoughts as tears roll down his cheeks.

"You can but not because you must. You can because I know you have the potential to do it; I know you will be the greatest king this kingdom has ever seen." I quickly tell him as I cup his face with my hands and I wipe his tears with my thumbs. "You will establish a dynasty that will last a thousand years" I add.

"Kougami…"

"I'm not the only one who sees a king in you. Do you honestly think the Islanders would stand by you if they did not?" I ask but I'm not expecting an answer as I continue, "You will be a king, better than your father will ever be because you have a kind and tender heart."

"Clueless, don't forget that part…" He mutters.

"You will learn. You're too hard on yourself. You have to give yourself a chance and you'll see." I tell him but he doesn't seem convinced.

Ginoza is just too hard on himself. He's so afraid that he'll mess up that it's all that he thinks about. He's making himself sick by overthinking about everything. The thing is that he forgets that he's not alone and that means that he doesn't have to do everything by himself.

"I'll be the worse king in history-"

"No! The worse king in history is your grandfather who brought shame to your family. He was a lunatic with the personality of a lobster and from what I hear from the Islanders, your father is working very hard to fix the mistakes that your grandfather made during his reign." I cut him off with a tone a bit too harsh but I just can't allow Ginoza to drag himself into the dirt like that. "I didn't want to say anything but your grandfather was a madman who executed his people without mercy. He set them on fire and watched them burn alive as they screamed." I further tell him, his eyes wide in shock as he stares back at me.

I didn't want to tell Ginoza what his grandfather was but he needs to know. I know it's not a pleasant thing to hear but for Ginoza's sake, he needs to know that no matter what he'll do, he'll never be worse than his grandfather.


End file.
